 | A sheaf of verse bound for the fair |  |
TO A LAKE.
Around thee mountains forest-crowned and green
Majestic rise,
Above, like love's triumphal arch, are seen
The quiet skies.
Majestic rise,
Above, like love's triumphal arch, are seen
The quiet skies.
How sweet to watch the sunset o'er thee weave
Celestial hues,
And mark the rosy glow of morn and eve
Thy face suffuse.
Celestial hues,
And mark the rosy glow of morn and eve
Thy face suffuse.
How spread thy waters like a crystal sea
When breezes die,
And in their lucent depths cloud, hill, and tree,
Reflected lie.
When breezes die,
And in their lucent depths cloud, hill, and tree,
Reflected lie.
23
How loves the moon a silver path to trace
Athwart thy breast,
Or see repose in thy pellucid vase
Her virgin crest.
Athwart thy breast,
Or see repose in thy pellucid vase
Her virgin crest.
Then ripples play and drooping leaves awake
Her light to greet,
While their soft murmurs on the silence break
Like fairy feet.
Her light to greet,
While their soft murmurs on the silence break
Like fairy feet.
And from the shade of some o'er-hanging cliff,
Or islet green,
Starts forth with gentle plash the lover's skiff,
To bless the scene.
Or islet green,
Starts forth with gentle plash the lover's skiff,
To bless the scene.
Rare flowers hang their bright and fragrant urns
Around thy brink,
And the glad deer from leafy covert turns
Thy wave to drink.
Around thy brink,
And the glad deer from leafy covert turns
Thy wave to drink.
The wild-birds woo thee as they coyly sweep
With downward flight,
Or cradled on thy bosom sink to sleep,
In mute delight.
With downward flight,
Or cradled on thy bosom sink to sleep,
In mute delight.
Would'st thou know peace that lore can ne'er reveal?
Bend o'er the tide,
And to thy heart its tranquil clearness feel
Serenely glide.
Bend o'er the tide,
And to thy heart its tranquil clearness feel
Serenely glide.
| A sheaf of verse bound for the fair | |