proem.
5
In very brightness lonely;
And some in stately sluggishness,
Forsaken barks, float rudderless
Adown time's silent river;
And some are meteors on high.
One moment flashing o'er the sky,
Then lost in night for ever!
And some in stately sluggishness,
Forsaken barks, float rudderless
Adown time's silent river;
And some are meteors on high.
One moment flashing o'er the sky,
Then lost in night for ever!
My lays, my lays,—would they might find
An echo in my country's heart,
Be in its home-affections shrined,
Form of its cherished things a part!
Be like wild flowers and common air,
Blooming for all, breathed everywhere,—
Or like the glad song of the bird,
Gushing for all, felt more than heard!
Earnest, untiring, might they be
Like barks before a breeze at sea,
Whose dashing prows point home,—
Like good knights bound for Palestine,
Like artists, warmed by fire divine,
O'er icy Alp and Apennine,
Holding their way to Rome,—
Like arrows flashing through the fight,
Like eagles on their sunward flight,—
An echo in my country's heart,
Be in its home-affections shrined,
Form of its cherished things a part!
Be like wild flowers and common air,
Blooming for all, breathed everywhere,—
Or like the glad song of the bird,
Gushing for all, felt more than heard!
Earnest, untiring, might they be
Like barks before a breeze at sea,
Whose dashing prows point home,—
Like good knights bound for Palestine,
Like artists, warmed by fire divine,
O'er icy Alp and Apennine,
Holding their way to Rome,—
Like arrows flashing through the fight,
Like eagles on their sunward flight,—
