 | Ximena ; or the battle of the Sierra Morena, and other poems |  |
73
TO THE BRANDYWINE.
Again upon my view,
Thou com'st in quiet beauty, gentle stream!
Upon thy waves, the clust'ring foliage through,
Floats the soft summer beam.
Thou com'st in quiet beauty, gentle stream!
Upon thy waves, the clust'ring foliage through,
Floats the soft summer beam.
Tall trees above thee bend,
That cast dark shadows on thy swelling breast;
And falls the mellow light in hues that blend,
Soft as the sunset west.
That cast dark shadows on thy swelling breast;
And falls the mellow light in hues that blend,
Soft as the sunset west.
And massy rocks arise,
To whose gray sides the glossy smilax cleaves,
While in the clefts the fox's timorous eyes
Peep from the clust'ring leaves.
To whose gray sides the glossy smilax cleaves,
While in the clefts the fox's timorous eyes
Peep from the clust'ring leaves.
The pendent willows dip
Their long boughs o'er, and in the waters lave;
And stoops the modest golden cup, to sip
The brightly flowing wave.
Their long boughs o'er, and in the waters lave;
And stoops the modest golden cup, to sip
The brightly flowing wave.
74
Thou wind'st thro' meadows green,
Fring'd with tall grass and graceful bending fern;
And down thro' glades to join thee, many a stream
Leaps from its mountain urn.
Fring'd with tall grass and graceful bending fern;
And down thro' glades to join thee, many a stream
Leaps from its mountain urn.
Thou fill'st the silent dell
With tuneful murmurings like a half breathed prayer;
Lifting thy chant, to join the hymns that swell
From temples everywhere.
With tuneful murmurings like a half breathed prayer;
Lifting thy chant, to join the hymns that swell
From temples everywhere.
When evening draws her veil
Across the sunset clouds, the moon above
Looks softly down, and stars are mirror'd pale,—
Pure as a dream of love.
Across the sunset clouds, the moon above
Looks softly down, and stars are mirror'd pale,—
Pure as a dream of love.
In sunnier climes than ours,
Glide brighter streams, o'er sands of golden hue,
And course their way beneath o'ershadowing flowers
And skies of fadeless blue.
Glide brighter streams, o'er sands of golden hue,
And course their way beneath o'ershadowing flowers
And skies of fadeless blue.
Yet still around thy name,
A halo lingers, never to decay,
For thou hast seen of old young freedom's flame,
Beaming with glorious ray.
A halo lingers, never to decay,
For thou hast seen of old young freedom's flame,
Beaming with glorious ray.
And once thy peaceful tide
Was fill'd with life-blood from bold hearts and brave;
And heroes on thy verdant margin died,
The land they loved, to save.
Was fill'd with life-blood from bold hearts and brave;
And heroes on thy verdant margin died,
The land they loved, to save.
75
These vales so calm and still,
Once saw the foeman's charge—the bayonet's gleam;
And heard the thunders roll from hill to hill,
From morn till sunset's beam.
Once saw the foeman's charge—the bayonet's gleam;
And heard the thunders roll from hill to hill,
From morn till sunset's beam.
Yet in thy beauty, now,
Unchanged thou art as when War's clarion peal,
Rang o'er thy waves, and on yon green hill's brow,
Glittered the serried steel.
Unchanged thou art as when War's clarion peal,
Rang o'er thy waves, and on yon green hill's brow,
Glittered the serried steel.
And still thy name shall be
A watchword for the brave of Freedom's clime,
And every patriot's heart will turn to thee,
As in the olden time.
A watchword for the brave of Freedom's clime,
And every patriot's heart will turn to thee,
As in the olden time.
| Ximena ; or the battle of the Sierra Morena, and other poems | |