Whence, o fragrant form of light, Hast thou drifted through the night, Swanlike, to a leafy nest, On the restless waves, at rest? Art thou from the snowy zone Of a mountain-summit blown, Or the blossom of a dream, Fashioned in the foamy stream? Nay,—methinks the maiden moon, When the daylight came too soon, Fleeting from her bath to hide, Left her garment in the tide.
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Whence, O fragrant form of light, Hast thou drifted through the night, Swanlike, to a leafy nest, On the restless waves, at rest? Art thou from the snowy zone Of a mountain-summit blown, Or the blossom of a dream, Fashioned in the foamy stream? Nay,—methinks the maiden moon, When the daylight... |
No more the battle or the chase The phantom tribes pursue, But each in its accustomed place The Autumn hails anew: And still from solemn councils set On every hill and plain, The smoke of many a calumet Ascends to heaven again. |
The bubble why should I stay? Nor seed nor fruit have I. But, sprung at once to beauty’s perfect round, Nor loss, nor gain, nor change in me is found,— A life—complete in death—complete to die. BECALMED THE BAR is crossed; but Death—the pilot—stands In seeming doubt before the tranquil... |
I long, long before the Babe could speak, When he would kiss his mother’s cheek And to her bosom press, The brightest angels standing near Would turn away to hide a tear— For they are motherless. II WHERE were ye, Birds, that bless His name, When wingless to the world He came, And... |
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Godlike beneath his grave divinities, The last of all their worshippers, he stood. The shadows of a vanished multitude Enwound him, and their voices in the breeze Made murmur, while the meditative trees Reared of their strong fraternal branches rude A temple meet for prayer. What blossoms... |
