The poetical works of William Wordsworth ... In six volumes ... A new edition |
 | I. |
| II. |
 | III. |
|
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
|
|
|
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
 | The poetical works of William Wordsworth |  |
XXXI. FLOWERS ON THE TOP OF THE PILLARS AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE CAVE.
Hope smiled when your nativity was cast,Upon the head of the columns which form the front of the cave, rests a body of decomposed basaltic matter, which was richly decorated with that large bright flower, the ox-eyed daisy. I had noticed the same flower growing with profusion among the bold rocks on the western coast of the Isle of Man; making a brilliant contrast with their black and gloomy surfaces.
Children of Summer! Ye fresh Flowers that brave
What Summer here escapes not, the fierce wave,
And whole artillery of the western blast,
Battering the Temple's front, its long-drawn nave
Smiting, as if each moment were their last.
But ye, bright Flowers, on frieze and architrave
Survive, and once again the Pile stands fast:
Calm as the Universe, from specular towers
Of heaven contemplated by Spirits pure
With mute astonishment, it stands sustained
Through every part in symmetry, to endure,
Unhurt, the assault of Time with all his hours,
As the supreme Artificer ordained.
| The poetical works of William Wordsworth | |