 | The poetical works of Lucy Larcom |  |
301
THE SUMMIT-FLOWER.
ALPINE SANDWORT.
Too close these giant hills their heads uprear;
From peak to base the unswerving outlines sweep
In awful curves; I follow them with fear:
They bear me down to yon abysmal deep,
Where storm-wind and black cloud for mastery fight,
And toss me, as their plaything, on the air;
The mountains crush me with their savage might;
Nature's rude strength is more than I can bear.
From peak to base the unswerving outlines sweep
In awful curves; I follow them with fear:
They bear me down to yon abysmal deep,
Where storm-wind and black cloud for mastery fight,
And toss me, as their plaything, on the air;
The mountains crush me with their savage might;
Nature's rude strength is more than I can bear.
O little white flower on the summit born,
How tenderly you look into my eyes!
Not for a moment do you feel forlorn
Among these grandeurs and immensities.
Vague, formless forces they; a life are you!
My next of kin, and dear as near to me,
You whisper in my ear a promise true,
A faint, clear hint of immortality.
How tenderly you look into my eyes!
Not for a moment do you feel forlorn
Among these grandeurs and immensities.
Vague, formless forces they; a life are you!
My next of kin, and dear as near to me,
You whisper in my ear a promise true,
A faint, clear hint of immortality.
I touch your leaf with reverence, little flower!
I think of spiritual heights beyond your ken,
Where mightier movements of invisible power
Mould into God-like grace the lives of men.
I gather courage, while I watch you here,
Winning from elements fierce your happy breath,
To root my hopes in mystery and fear,
And find my life in that which seems my death.
I think of spiritual heights beyond your ken,
Where mightier movements of invisible power
Mould into God-like grace the lives of men.
I gather courage, while I watch you here,
Winning from elements fierce your happy breath,
To root my hopes in mystery and fear,
And find my life in that which seems my death.
Mount Washington, N. H., August, 1882.
| The poetical works of Lucy Larcom | |