 | The vigil of faith, and other poems |  |
75
WHAT IS SOLITUDE.
Not in the shadowy wood
Not in the crag-hung glen,
Not where the echoes brood
In caves untrod by men;
Not by the bleak sea shore,
Where barren surges break,
Not on the mountain hoar,
Not by the breeze less lake;
Not on the desert plain
Where man hath never stood,
Whether on isle or main—
Not there is solitude!
Not in the crag-hung glen,
Not where the echoes brood
In caves untrod by men;
Not by the bleak sea shore,
Where barren surges break,
Not on the mountain hoar,
Not by the breeze less lake;
Not on the desert plain
Where man hath never stood,
Whether on isle or main—
Not there is solitude!
76
Birds are in woodland bowers;
Voices in lonely dells;
Streams to the listening hours
Talk in earth's secret cells;
Over the gray-ribbed sand
Breathe Ocean's frothy lips;
Over the still lake's strand
The wild flower tow'rd it dips;
Pluming the mountain's crest
Life tosses in its pines;
Coursing the desert's breast
Life in the steed's mane shines.
Voices in lonely dells;
Streams to the listening hours
Talk in earth's secret cells;
Over the gray-ribbed sand
Breathe Ocean's frothy lips;
Over the still lake's strand
The wild flower tow'rd it dips;
Pluming the mountain's crest
Life tosses in its pines;
Coursing the desert's breast
Life in the steed's mane shines.
Leave—if thou would'st be lonely—
Leave Nature for the crowd;
Seek there for one—one only
With kindred mind endowed!
There—as with Nature erst
Closely thou would'st commune—
The deep soul-music nursed
In either heart, attune!
Heart-wearied thou wilt own,
Vainly that phantom wooed,
That thou at last hast known
What is true Solitude!
Leave Nature for the crowd;
Seek there for one—one only
With kindred mind endowed!
77
Closely thou would'st commune—
The deep soul-music nursed
In either heart, attune!
Heart-wearied thou wilt own,
Vainly that phantom wooed,
That thou at last hast known
What is true Solitude!
| The vigil of faith, and other poems | |