 | Miscellaneous Poems |  |
82
RECORDATIO RIVORUM.
The gentle rivers of the earth,
What are they but the gems that bind
Her beauteous bosom from its birth,
The mirrors of each form refined?
What are they but the gems that bind
Her beauteous bosom from its birth,
The mirrors of each form refined?
Now, half unseen, the shadowy streams
Their sylvan coves and hollows lave;
Now evening's rich purpureal gleams
Are flashing o'er the phosphor wave.
Their sylvan coves and hollows lave;
Now evening's rich purpureal gleams
Are flashing o'er the phosphor wave.
I know them all; no waters kiss
Their haunted cliffs or caverns old;
But I the amber flood have drank,
And trod their sands of fabled gold.
Their haunted cliffs or caverns old;
But I the amber flood have drank,
And trod their sands of fabled gold.
On Tiber's yellow shores I've stood;
Rich Brenta's marble halls I know;
And oft my little boat hath sailed
Along the silver Po.
Rich Brenta's marble halls I know;
And oft my little boat hath sailed
Along the silver Po.
83
How dear beneath thy banks of wood,
Loved Arno, hast thou been to me!
For by thy wave has Dante stood,
And sunny Florence looks on thee.
Loved Arno, hast thou been to me!
For by thy wave has Dante stood,
And sunny Florence looks on thee.
I've seen the Rhone, with bridal haste,
Rush onward to the ocean bay;
And I have seen where in his cave
The giant infant lay.
Rush onward to the ocean bay;
And I have seen where in his cave
The giant infant lay.
The Baden hills are steep to climb,
And dark their piny forests swell;
Beneath their shadows I have knelt,
Beside the Danube's well.
And dark their piny forests swell;
Beneath their shadows I have knelt,
Beside the Danube's well.
Elbe, mighty Elbe, thou roll'st along,
The heart of Germany is thine;
And well may I thy mountains love,
Thou castle-covered Rhine!
The heart of Germany is thine;
And well may I thy mountains love,
Thou castle-covered Rhine!
84
Old Drance, he hath a giant's step,
And tramples on from steep to steep;
And pale, oh! pale, the moonlight snows
Around the young Arveiron sleep.
And tramples on from steep to steep;
And pale, oh! pale, the moonlight snows
Around the young Arveiron sleep.
I've seen thy blue wave glide beneath
Each mirror'd hue of rock and tree;
And it was as a fairy dream,
Delightful Meuse, to gaze on thee!
Each mirror'd hue of rock and tree;
And it was as a fairy dream,
Delightful Meuse, to gaze on thee!
Ah, golden Treves! how like a queen
Thou sitt'st amid thy flowery dell,
And twin'st around thy regal brow
The vine-wreath of thy lov'd Moselle.
Thou sitt'st amid thy flowery dell,
And twin'st around thy regal brow
The vine-wreath of thy lov'd Moselle.
A little month, a little month,
I roam'd among thine islets gay,
While o'er each wild and winding marge
Gleam'd mould'ring tower and turret grey.
I roam'd among thine islets gay,
While o'er each wild and winding marge
Gleam'd mould'ring tower and turret grey.
But hark! what evening music floats
Rich with the South's voluptuous air?
And who are they, the angel forms,
That wave their long resplendent hair?
Rich with the South's voluptuous air?
And who are they, the angel forms,
That wave their long resplendent hair?
85
Dark are their brows, and light their step,
Who call the banks of Loire their own,
And they who touch the soft guitar
Along thy hills, thou loved Garonne.
Who call the banks of Loire their own,
And they who touch the soft guitar
Along thy hills, thou loved Garonne.
If Beauty were a fadeless flower,
If Love were more than poet's dream,
With them I'd build my chosen bower,
Where Sorga winds her wizard stream.
If Love were more than poet's dream,
With them I'd build my chosen bower,
Where Sorga winds her wizard stream.
For I have sat in Petrarch's chair,
Have trod with awe the poet's room,
And one cold kiss these lips have laid,
Chaste Laura, on thy marble tomb.
Have trod with awe the poet's room,
And one cold kiss these lips have laid,
Chaste Laura, on thy marble tomb.
Now let these gentle rivers glide,
Their own sweet path to choose or leave;
For see how softly Thames reflects
The silver lights of eve.
Their own sweet path to choose or leave;
For see how softly Thames reflects
The silver lights of eve.
When hopes are bright, when hearts are young,
By other hills and streams we roam,
Content if in our later age
On Thames's shores we find a home.
By other hills and streams we roam,
Content if in our later age
On Thames's shores we find a home.
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