Ballads and Other Poems By Mary Howitt |
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MOUNTAIN CHILDREN. |
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 | Ballads and Other Poems |  |
298
MOUNTAIN CHILDREN.
Dwellers by lake and hill,
Merry companions of the bird and bee,
Go gladly forth and drink of joy your fill,
With unconstrainëd step and spirit free.
Merry companions of the bird and bee,
Go gladly forth and drink of joy your fill,
With unconstrainëd step and spirit free.
No crowd impedes your way,
No city wall proscribes your further bounds,
Where the wild flocks can wander, ye may stray
The long day through, 'mid summer sights and sounds.
No city wall proscribes your further bounds,
Where the wild flocks can wander, ye may stray
The long day through, 'mid summer sights and sounds.
The sunshine and the flowers,
And the old trees that cast a solemn shade;
The pleasant evening, the fresh dewy hours,
And the green hills whereon your fathers played;
And the old trees that cast a solemn shade;
The pleasant evening, the fresh dewy hours,
And the green hills whereon your fathers played;
The grey and ancient peaks,
Round which the silent clouds hang day and night;
And the low voice of water, as it makes,
Like a glad creature, murmurings of delight:
Round which the silent clouds hang day and night;
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Like a glad creature, murmurings of delight:
These are your joys. Go forth,
Give your hearts up unto their mighty power;
For in his spirit God has clothed the earth,
And speaks in love from every tree and flower.
Give your hearts up unto their mighty power;
For in his spirit God has clothed the earth,
And speaks in love from every tree and flower.
The voice of hidden rills
Its quiet way into your spirits finds;
And awfully the everlasting hills
Address you in their many-tonëd winds.
Its quiet way into your spirits finds;
And awfully the everlasting hills
Address you in their many-tonëd winds.
Ye sit upon the earth
Twining its flowers, and shouting, full of glee;
And a pure mighty influence, 'mid your mirth,
Moulds your unconscious spirits silently.
Twining its flowers, and shouting, full of glee;
And a pure mighty influence, 'mid your mirth,
Moulds your unconscious spirits silently.
Hence is it that the lands
Of storm and mountain have the noblest sons;
Whom the world reverences, the patriot bands,
Were of the hills like you, ye little ones!
Of storm and mountain have the noblest sons;
Whom the world reverences, the patriot bands,
Were of the hills like you, ye little ones!
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Children of pleasant song
Are taught within the mountain solitudes;
For hoary legends to your wilds belong,
And yours are haunts where inspiration broods.
Are taught within the mountain solitudes;
For hoary legends to your wilds belong,
And yours are haunts where inspiration broods.
Then go forth: earth and sky
To you are tributary; joys are spread
Profusely, like the summer flowers that lie
In the green path, beneath your gamesome tread.
To you are tributary; joys are spread
Profusely, like the summer flowers that lie
In the green path, beneath your gamesome tread.
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