The Hope of the World and other poems by Charles Mackay |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
|
TO AN EAGLE. |
|
|
 | The Hope of the World and other poems |  |
104
TO AN EAGLE.
O for thy cleaving wings,
To brave the rugged blast,
In spite of wind and storm to soar
O'er mount and meadow vast!
O that I might, like thee,
O'er Alpine summits fly,
And travel, unconfined and free,
The nearest to the sky!
To brave the rugged blast,
In spite of wind and storm to soar
O'er mount and meadow vast!
O that I might, like thee,
O'er Alpine summits fly,
And travel, unconfined and free,
The nearest to the sky!
O that mine eye, like thine,
Upon the sun might gaze,
And revel in that living light,
Undazzled by the blaze!
O that my rapid flight
O'er boundless ether driven,
Might never leave, for things of earth,
The brighter ones of heaven!
Upon the sun might gaze,
And revel in that living light,
Undazzled by the blaze!
O that my rapid flight
O'er boundless ether driven,
Might never leave, for things of earth,
The brighter ones of heaven!
105
Here, when the soul inspired
Would leave the world behind,
Forgetting its affinity
To sorrow and mankind,
With eye like thine, to scan
The wonders of its birth,
Some petty care disturbs its flight,
And draws it back to earth.
Would leave the world behind,
Forgetting its affinity
To sorrow and mankind,
With eye like thine, to scan
The wonders of its birth,
Some petty care disturbs its flight,
And draws it back to earth.
O for thy cleaving wings!
O for thy toppling nest!
To dwell upon the mountain tops,
With Nature for my guest:
Fann'd by the rushing wind,
Rejoicing in the blast,
And soaring in the light of morn
O'er woods and waters vast!
O for thy toppling nest!
To dwell upon the mountain tops,
With Nature for my guest:
Fann'd by the rushing wind,
Rejoicing in the blast,
And soaring in the light of morn
O'er woods and waters vast!
| The Hope of the World and other poems | |