 | Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard . |  |
87
SUNSET FROM PUU MAHOE
I thread the path through verdant leas,
Till, looking downward from the height,
Lo! dreamy lands by dreamy seas
Made misty in the mellow light.
Till, looking downward from the height,
Lo! dreamy lands by dreamy seas
Made misty in the mellow light.
And ever-wandering clouds that drape
With tint of pearl, or stain of blood,
The nestling isle, the distant cape
That sinks into yon purple flood.
With tint of pearl, or stain of blood,
The nestling isle, the distant cape
That sinks into yon purple flood.
And overhead the jewelled plain,
Where shadows deepen as they close—
But deepening, neither blot nor stain
The sweetest blue that heaven knows.
Where shadows deepen as they close—
But deepening, neither blot nor stain
The sweetest blue that heaven knows.
O perfect sight—more perfect still
For being sought in happy mood—
How many hearts might pulse and thrill
Within this seeming solitude!
For being sought in happy mood—
How many hearts might pulse and thrill
Within this seeming solitude!
And have the ages wrought so long;
Must all this beauty go to make
A thought to perish in a song,
One picture for one creature's sake?
Must all this beauty go to make
88
One picture for one creature's sake?
No! rather think this fair expanse
May be the margin of that shore
Swept over with seraphic glance
By spirits that we know no more.
May be the margin of that shore
Swept over with seraphic glance
By spirits that we know no more.
| Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard . | |