 | Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell |  |
I.
[I stood beside a sheltered, tranquil lake]
I stood beside a sheltered, tranquil lake,
When earth wore all the holy hush and calm
That in a temple follow prayer and psalm.
Nature kept Sabbath: not a breath did shake
A leaf, or branch, or dew-drop in the brake,
And as I gazed into the waters sweet,
All heaven seemed lying at my very feet.
And winds were still and every air was balm—
When earth wore all the holy hush and calm
That in a temple follow prayer and psalm.
Nature kept Sabbath: not a breath did shake
A leaf, or branch, or dew-drop in the brake,
And as I gazed into the waters sweet,
All heaven seemed lying at my very feet.
And winds were still and every air was balm—
Far in the depths, translucent, pure and clear,
Unruffled even by a ripple's flow,
Were glassed the stars that in the azure sphere
With silver fires made all the skies aglow.
And yearned I then that, as within that mere,
High heaven were mirror'd in my heart below.
Unruffled even by a ripple's flow,
Were glassed the stars that in the azure sphere
With silver fires made all the skies aglow.
And yearned I then that, as within that mere,
High heaven were mirror'd in my heart below.
| Diana's Looking Glass and Other Poems by Charles D. Bell | |