 | Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy |  |
29
AT ARTH-GOLDAU
Still must the Rossberg our reproaches bear,
The mark upon his forehead be unhealed,
And Lowertz' lessened lake and Goldau's field
Sown thick with boulders, bid the traveller fear;
Again earth's avalanche he seems to hear,
The shuddering Rigi roars, as if it pealed
With thunder when Arth's waters backward reeled,
And the doom fell that cannot disappear.
The mark upon his forehead be unhealed,
And Lowertz' lessened lake and Goldau's field
Sown thick with boulders, bid the traveller fear;
Again earth's avalanche he seems to hear,
The shuddering Rigi roars, as if it pealed
With thunder when Arth's waters backward reeled,
And the doom fell that cannot disappear.
But to the valley with that stroke of death
Came powers of life to soothe and disannul
The awful woe of villages forlorn;
The lichen's tender hand makes beautiful
The rocky tomb of those who slept beneath,
And for their dirge ten thousand pines are born.
Came powers of life to soothe and disannul
The awful woe of villages forlorn;
The lichen's tender hand makes beautiful
The rocky tomb of those who slept beneath,
And for their dirge ten thousand pines are born.
| Sonnets in Switzerland and Italy | |