 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
20
FROM THE STAFFEL-STOCK
RIGI
Beneath me lay the Kaltbad's welcoming halls,
The ground was crocus-starred, the gentian's hue
Filled all the grass with hyacinthine blue;
From the far Rigi's rosy mountain-walls,
Across the pines, came frequent cuckoo-calls,
And clear from yon steep-bastioned Rothenfluh
The silent air refreshingly let through
The May-tide murmur of the waterfalls.
The ground was crocus-starred, the gentian's hue
Filled all the grass with hyacinthine blue;
From the far Rigi's rosy mountain-walls,
Across the pines, came frequent cuckoo-calls,
And clear from yon steep-bastioned Rothenfluh
The silent air refreshingly let through
The May-tide murmur of the waterfalls.
But not dark Mythen under Sentis seen,
Nor cloud-enwreathed Pilatus grim and grey,
Held me as that Protean Bürgenstock
Which down at Vitznau like a lion lay,
And now half shadow, now half silver rock,
Basked in the sun by Uri's water green.
Nor cloud-enwreathed Pilatus grim and grey,
Held me as that Protean Bürgenstock
Which down at Vitznau like a lion lay,
And now half shadow, now half silver rock,
Basked in the sun by Uri's water green.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |