 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
159
ON CHAMOSSAIRE
Mist wrapped the Jura, like an ocean bay
The gray lake waters rippled into light;
Northward the sun smote Leysin's towering height,
And south Mont Blanc in snowy splendour lay;
Beyond a sea of mountain blue and gray
The Weisshorn rose, the Bernese peaks were bright,
And drawing purple glory, golden light,
From every vale, the long Rhone held its way.
The gray lake waters rippled into light;
Northward the sun smote Leysin's towering height,
And south Mont Blanc in snowy splendour lay;
Beyond a sea of mountain blue and gray
The Weisshorn rose, the Bernese peaks were bright,
And drawing purple glory, golden light,
From every vale, the long Rhone held its way.
Soul, thou must climb the hills, drink upper air,
Stand near to Heaven, or thou canst never know
What towering presences around thee wait,
More than the labourer in the plain below,
Whose eyes have never seen what mountain state
The Dawn reveals on grassy Chamossaire.
Stand near to Heaven, or thou canst never know
What towering presences around thee wait,
More than the labourer in the plain below,
Whose eyes have never seen what mountain state
The Dawn reveals on grassy Chamossaire.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |