 | The poetical works of Lucy Larcom |  |
IN A CLOUD RIFT.
Upon our loftiest White Mountain peak,
Filled with the freshness of untainted air,
We sat, nor cared to listen or to speak
To one another, for the silence there
Was eloquent with God's presence. Not a sound
Uttered the winds in their unhindered sweep
Above us through the heavens. The gulf profound,
Below us, seethed with mists, a sullen deep:
From thawless ice-caves of a vast ravine
Rolled sheeted clouds across the lands unseen.
Filled with the freshness of untainted air,
We sat, nor cared to listen or to speak
To one another, for the silence there
Was eloquent with God's presence. Not a sound
Uttered the winds in their unhindered sweep
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Below us, seethed with mists, a sullen deep:
From thawless ice-caves of a vast ravine
Rolled sheeted clouds across the lands unseen.
How far away seemed all that we had known
In homely levels of the earth beneath,
Where still our thoughts went wandering! “Turn thee!” Blown
Apart before us, a dissolving wreath
Of clouds framed in a picture on the air:
The fair long Saco Valley, whence we came;
The hills and lakes of Ossipee;—and there
Glimmers the sea! Some pleasant, well-known name
With every break to memory hastens back;—
Monadnock, Winnepesaukee, Merrimack.
In homely levels of the earth beneath,
Where still our thoughts went wandering! “Turn thee!” Blown
Apart before us, a dissolving wreath
Of clouds framed in a picture on the air:
The fair long Saco Valley, whence we came;
The hills and lakes of Ossipee;—and there
Glimmers the sea! Some pleasant, well-known name
With every break to memory hastens back;—
Monadnock, Winnepesaukee, Merrimack.
On widening vistas broader rifts unfold;
Far off into the waters of Champlain
Great sunset-summits dip their flaming gold;
There winds the dim Connecticut, a vein
Of silver through aerial green; and here
The upland street of rural Bethlehem;
And there the roofs of Bethel. Azure-clear
Shimmers the Androscoggin; like a gem
Umbagog glistens; and Katahdin gleams;—
Or is it some dim mountain of our dreams?
Far off into the waters of Champlain
Great sunset-summits dip their flaming gold;
There winds the dim Connecticut, a vein
Of silver through aerial green; and here
The upland street of rural Bethlehem;
And there the roofs of Bethel. Azure-clear
Shimmers the Androscoggin; like a gem
Umbagog glistens; and Katahdin gleams;—
Or is it some dim mountain of our dreams?
Our own familiar world, not yet half known,
Nor loved enough, in tints of Paradise
Lies there before us, now so lovely grown
We wonder what strange film was on our eyes
Ere we climbed hither. But again the cloud,
Descending, shuts the beauteous vision out;
Between us the abysses spread their shroud;
We are to earth, as earth to us, a doubt;
Dear home-folk, skyward seeking us, can see
No crest or crag where pilgrim feet may be.
Nor loved enough, in tints of Paradise
Lies there before us, now so lovely grown
We wonder what strange film was on our eyes
Ere we climbed hither. But again the cloud,
Descending, shuts the beauteous vision out;
Between us the abysses spread their shroud;
We are to earth, as earth to us, a doubt;
Dear home-folk, skyward seeking us, can see
No crest or crag where pilgrim feet may be.
Who whispered unto us of life and death,
As silence closed upon our hearts once more?
On heights where angels sit, perhaps a breath
May clear the separating gulfs; a door
May open sometimes betwixt earth and heaven,
And life's most haunting mystery be shown
A fog-drift of the mind, scattered and driven
Before the winds of God; no vague unknown
Death's dreaded path,—only a curtained stair;
And heaven but earth raised into purer air.
As silence closed upon our hearts once more?
On heights where angels sit, perhaps a breath
May clear the separating gulfs; a door
May open sometimes betwixt earth and heaven,
And life's most haunting mystery be shown
A fog-drift of the mind, scattered and driven
Before the winds of God; no vague unknown
Death's dreaded path,—only a curtained stair;
And heaven but earth raised into purer air.
| The poetical works of Lucy Larcom | |