Orellana and Other Poems By J. Logie Robertson |
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THE LIGHT ON THE HILLSIDE. |
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 | Orellana and Other Poems |  |
181
THE LIGHT ON THE HILLSIDE.
“You see it gleaming far up the height,
Yon little square patch of warm red light?
—It's a far way up, but it's full in my sight,
And I lodge within its warmth to-night.
Yon little square patch of warm red light?
—It's a far way up, but it's full in my sight,
And I lodge within its warmth to-night.
Around it the mists of the mountain are curled,
Above it the Night like a flag is unfurled,
But it shines like Milton's pendent World
With the bluster of Chaos against it hurled!
Above it the Night like a flag is unfurled,
But it shines like Milton's pendent World
With the bluster of Chaos against it hurled!
It's only a simple shepherd's cot;
But there isn't in all the earth a spot
Where half so hearty a welcome is got,
—And that's the charm of home, is it not?
But there isn't in all the earth a spot
Where half so hearty a welcome is got,
—And that's the charm of home, is it not?
182
Within, my father is dozing through tire,
My mother is plying the twinkling wire,
Between them stands in front of the fire
A chair that encloses my heart's desire.
My mother is plying the twinkling wire,
Between them stands in front of the fire
A chair that encloses my heart's desire.
Its back ascends an enormous height,
Its arms stretch outward to left and right,
And it's clothed from top to bottom quite
In a clean chintz wrapper of blue and white.
Its arms stretch outward to left and right,
And it's clothed from top to bottom quite
In a clean chintz wrapper of blue and white.
But many wet bushes the winds will toss
Against my cheek; and one long moss,
And braes and brooks, I must climb and cross,
Ere I cover the miles between it and Kinross.
Against my cheek; and one long moss,
And braes and brooks, I must climb and cross,
Ere I cover the miles between it and Kinross.
—Good night, fellow-student! Good night, good night!
A couple of hours will see me all right:
Think of me then in my chair on the height,
Think of me then—and you'll envy me quite!”
A couple of hours will see me all right:
Think of me then in my chair on the height,
Think of me then—and you'll envy me quite!”
183
How strangely his voice at parting thrilled!
—Well, the night wore by, and the storm was stilled,
And morning dawned; but the Fates had willed
That chair on the mountain should never be filled!
—Well, the night wore by, and the storm was stilled,
And morning dawned; but the Fates had willed
That chair on the mountain should never be filled!
| Orellana and Other Poems | |