 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
Ship Rock
With a sudden, sweet surprise
Burst the prospect on our eyes;
Far the city's spires are seen,
Hills, and fields, and woods between.
Burst the prospect on our eyes;
Far the city's spires are seen,
Hills, and fields, and woods between.
352
Farther still, the ocean blue
Fitly bounds the charming view;
Where, on the horizon clear,
Noble ships their courses steer.
Fitly bounds the charming view;
Where, on the horizon clear,
Noble ships their courses steer.
By the pond, beneath the hill,
Silent stands the noisy mill;
While the brook with laugh and song
Through the meadow glides along.
Silent stands the noisy mill;
While the brook with laugh and song
Through the meadow glides along.
Science may thy birth explore,
On the far-off Arctic shore;
And thy various wanderings show,
In the ages long ago;—
On the far-off Arctic shore;
And thy various wanderings show,
In the ages long ago;—
With more interest here I trace
Backward my own name and race;
From thy top the scene behold,
Where they lived and toiled of old.
Backward my own name and race;
From thy top the scene behold,
Where they lived and toiled of old.
Here the wooded fields they cleared,
And their humble homesteads reared;
Here they planted, gathered here
Harvests ripe from year to year.
And their humble homesteads reared;
Here they planted, gathered here
Harvests ripe from year to year.
Here they worshipped Him, whose word,
In their father-land, they heard;
Him, who, o'er the ocean wide,
Was their Hope, their Strength, their Guide.
In their father-land, they heard;
Him, who, o'er the ocean wide,
Was their Hope, their Strength, their Guide.
Here, in sweet and holy trust,
They committed dust to dust;
Minding where the soul's conveyed,
More than where the body's laid.
They committed dust to dust;
Minding where the soul's conveyed,
More than where the body's laid.
Still their orchard-lot I see,
Here and there a moss-grown tree;
Here their dwelling's site is known,
Now by shrubs and vines o'ergrown.
Here and there a moss-grown tree;
Here their dwelling's site is known,
Now by shrubs and vines o'ergrown.
Sacred is this spot to me,
Rock, and brook, and lofty tree;
For, amid the scenes I tread,
Rests the dust of kindred dead!
Rock, and brook, and lofty tree;
For, amid the scenes I tread,
Rests the dust of kindred dead!
Poem No. 831; c. 15 July 1862
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |