 | Poems by Two Brothers |  |
177
‘THOSE WORLDLY GOODS THAT, DISTANT, SEEM’
Those worldly goods that, distant, seemWith every joy and bliss to teem,
Are spurn'd as trivial when possess'd,
And, when acquir'd, delight us least:
As torrent-rainbows, which appear
Still dwindling as we still draw near;
And yet contracting on the eye,
Till the bright circling colours die.
C. T.
The term “Rainbows” is not exactly applicable here, as I mean the bow after it has assumed the circular figure. “The sun shining full upon it (viz. the Fall of Staubbach) formed towards the bottom of the fall a miniature rainbow extremely bright: while I stood at some distance, the rainbow assumed a semicircular figure; as I approached, the extreme points gradually coincided, and formed a complete circle of the most lively and brilliant colours. In order to have a still fairer view, I ventured nearer and nearer, the circle at the same time becoming smaller and smaller: and as I stood quite under the fall, it suddenly disappeared.” Coxe's Switzerland.
| Poems by Two Brothers | |