 | Italy and Other Poems |  |
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MONT-BLANC.
Once more, thou Vision! rob'd in light,
Illume thy mountain throne,
Float in soft flame before my sight,
And wreathe thy triple zone.—
Again diffuse th' ethereal glow
That rested on th' eternal snow,
The band of fire, the roseate hue
That round each rival zone unearthly splendour drew.
Illume thy mountain throne,
Float in soft flame before my sight,
And wreathe thy triple zone.—
Again diffuse th' ethereal glow
That rested on th' eternal snow,
The band of fire, the roseate hue
That round each rival zone unearthly splendour drew.
Give me the wings that bear the wind
To speed at will my flight,
And leaving earth's low realms behind
To gain yon Alpine height:
There to my gaze, on either side,
Let oceans pour their changeful tide,
And populous regions fill the scene,
And, tow'ring in their strength, proud cities gleam between:
To speed at will my flight,
And leaving earth's low realms behind
To gain yon Alpine height:
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Let oceans pour their changeful tide,
And populous regions fill the scene,
And, tow'ring in their strength, proud cities gleam between:
Then, in that dark, dark depth of sky,
At noon-day, one by one,
Flame the bright planets wheeling by,
And world's beyond the sun:
Yet, nor the regions spreading wide,
Far seas, or cities' tow'ring pride,
Or Night's fair host at noon of day,
Would from my wondering view thy vision charm away.
At noon-day, one by one,
Flame the bright planets wheeling by,
And world's beyond the sun:
Yet, nor the regions spreading wide,
Far seas, or cities' tow'ring pride,
Or Night's fair host at noon of day,
Would from my wondering view thy vision charm away.
Art thou a gleam of worlds more fair
Than meet the mortal eye,
Where forms that float in purer air
Illume a brighter sky?
Or say'st thou to the sons of earth,
“When Eden bow'rs first hail'd thy birth,
“Such the bright zone that fenc'd thee round,
“Ere Sin unbarr'd the gate, and Death had entrance found?”
Than meet the mortal eye,
Where forms that float in purer air
Illume a brighter sky?
Or say'st thou to the sons of earth,
“When Eden bow'rs first hail'd thy birth,
“Such the bright zone that fenc'd thee round,
“Ere Sin unbarr'd the gate, and Death had entrance found?”
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Not such array the Nymphs of Morn,
Who hand in hand advance,
Guide thro' heav'n's arch the sun new born,
And weave in air their dance:
Nor when at eve one lonely star
Leads his prone steeds, and westering car,
Such the bright robes around him roll'd,
Tho' each empurpled cloud float o'er a wave of gold.
Who hand in hand advance,
Guide thro' heav'n's arch the sun new born,
And weave in air their dance:
Nor when at eve one lonely star
Leads his prone steeds, and westering car,
Such the bright robes around him roll'd,
Tho' each empurpled cloud float o'er a wave of gold.
Thou beauteous, strange, unquivering light!
I saw thee travelling slow,
And, ere the sun had sunk in night,
Pass many a mountain brow:
As if, disdainful there to stay,
Thou went'st, commission'd, on thy way,
To diadem a loftier crest,
And gathering there thy strength, awhile in glory rest.
I saw thee travelling slow,
And, ere the sun had sunk in night,
Pass many a mountain brow:
As if, disdainful there to stay,
Thou went'st, commission'd, on thy way,
To diadem a loftier crest,
And gathering there thy strength, awhile in glory rest.
Amid yon mountains far descried,
With ice eternal crown'd,
'Mid glaciers spreading far and wide
A frozen ocean round,
'Mid floods that from unfathom'd caves
Sent up the voice of viewless waves,
Where at the thunder's awful peal
Th' o'erbeetling avalanche bursts, and rocks beneath it reel:
With ice eternal crown'd,
'Mid glaciers spreading far and wide
A frozen ocean round,
'Mid floods that from unfathom'd caves
Sent up the voice of viewless waves,
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Th' o'erbeetling avalanche bursts, and rocks beneath it reel:
'Mid these, that spake Jehovah's might,
Where Nature felt her God,
My spirit wing'd a loftier flight,
My foot devoutlier trod,
Than where ambitious Art display'd
Her pomp, her pillar'd colonnade,
And Genius, 'mid adoring Rome,
Earth's stateliest temple crown'd, and pois'd in air the dome.
Where Nature felt her God,
My spirit wing'd a loftier flight,
My foot devoutlier trod,
Than where ambitious Art display'd
Her pomp, her pillar'd colonnade,
And Genius, 'mid adoring Rome,
Earth's stateliest temple crown'd, and pois'd in air the dome.
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