 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
1
SWITZERLAND
Land of undying Winter, endless Spring,—For twice behind the scythe your valleys shine;
Land of the broad-leaved chestnut and the pine,
Where all the flowers their gayest garlands fling
Before the feet of Summer; where bells ring
An echo to the music of the kine;
Land doubly flowing with milk and mellow wine,
—Milk of pure kindness, wine of welcoming—
To you I come, worn out with petty care,
Come, for the cuckoo called me; let blue floods
And your white-blossoming valleys close me round,
And give me leave with simple faith to share
The solace of your mountain solitudes,
And walk with Freedom on her native ground.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |