 | Poems and Translations |  |
47
NIAGARA RIVER BELOW THE FALLS.
Flow on forever, in thy tranquil sleep,
Thou stream, all wearied by thy giant leap;
Flow on in quiet and in peace fore'er,
No rocky steep, no precipice is there.
Thou stream, all wearied by thy giant leap;
Flow on in quiet and in peace fore'er,
No rocky steep, no precipice is there.
The rush, the roar, the agony are past;
The leap, the mighty fall, are o'er at last;
And now with drowsy ripplings dost thou flow,
All murmuring in whispers soft and low.
The leap, the mighty fall, are o'er at last;
And now with drowsy ripplings dost thou flow,
All murmuring in whispers soft and low.
Oh tell us, slumb'ring, em'rald river, now,
With that torn veil of foam upon thy brow;
Now, while thou sleepest quietly below,—
What are thy dreams? Spent river, let us know.
With that torn veil of foam upon thy brow;
Now, while thou sleepest quietly below,—
What are thy dreams? Spent river, let us know.
Again, in thought, dost dash o'er that dread steep,
By frenzy maddened to the fearful leap?
By passion's mists all blinded, cold and white,
Dost plunge once more, now, from the dizzy height?
By frenzy maddened to the fearful leap?
By passion's mists all blinded, cold and white,
Dost plunge once more, now, from the dizzy height?
Or else, forgetful of the dangers past,
Art dreaming calm and peacefully, at last,
Of that fair nymph who pressed thy livid brow,
And gave thy past a glory vanished now?
Art dreaming calm and peacefully, at last,
48
And gave thy past a glory vanished now?
The Rainbow, whom the royal Sun e'er wooes,
For whom, in tears, the mighty Storm-king sues:
Who left her cloud-built palace-home above,
To crown thy awful brow with light and love.
For whom, in tears, the mighty Storm-king sues:
Who left her cloud-built palace-home above,
To crown thy awful brow with light and love.
Yes, in thy tranquil sleep, O wearied stream,
Still of the lovely Iris is thy dream;
The agony, the perils ne'er could last;
But with all these the rainbow, too, has past.
Still of the lovely Iris is thy dream;
The agony, the perils ne'er could last;
But with all these the rainbow, too, has past.
No life so wild and hopeless but some gleam
Doth lighten it, to make a future dream.
Thy course, O Stream, has been mid fears and woe,
But thou hast met the Rainbow in thy flow.
Doth lighten it, to make a future dream.
Thy course, O Stream, has been mid fears and woe,
But thou hast met the Rainbow in thy flow.
New York, November 3d, 1865.
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