 | Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell |  |
299
THE HORSE-SHOE FALLS.
I.
Chafed seas of weltering waters met in fight,
Confusèd floods, mingled in wild affray,
Plunge crashing downwards in their headlong might,
And in the wild abyss are churned to spray,
Then tossed to heaven in tremulous clouds of white,
Making a glory of the common day.
Beyond imagination is this sight,
This rush of waters roaring on their way.
Confusèd floods, mingled in wild affray,
Plunge crashing downwards in their headlong might,
And in the wild abyss are churned to spray,
Then tossed to heaven in tremulous clouds of white,
Making a glory of the common day.
Beyond imagination is this sight,
This rush of waters roaring on their way.
Here, as I stand, watching the torrent's leap,
There comes across the current, borne to me,
Voices as from a far eternity,
Music of many waters loud and deep,
Scene beyond words! glories of fall and stream,
Ye wake a transport and a joy supreme.
There comes across the current, borne to me,
Voices as from a far eternity,
Music of many waters loud and deep,
Scene beyond words! glories of fall and stream,
Ye wake a transport and a joy supreme.
300
II.
If ye are glorious ye are awful too,
And touch the springs of terror at their source,
As watch we your inexorable force,
And feel your pity it were vain to woo.
For, deaf to voice of prayer, ye would pursue
All pitiless and passionless your course,—
With all the thunders of the ages hoarse.
Nothing your flashing waters would subdue.
And touch the springs of terror at their source,
As watch we your inexorable force,
And feel your pity it were vain to woo.
For, deaf to voice of prayer, ye would pursue
All pitiless and passionless your course,—
With all the thunders of the ages hoarse.
Nothing your flashing waters would subdue.
We quail before you, torrents, in your pride;
The strongest swimmer caught within your power
Were but your plaything, helpless as the flower
Borne on the rapids' swift resistless tide.
Ah, well that o'er the chasm deep and broad
The rainbow glitters like the smile of God!
The strongest swimmer caught within your power
Were but your plaything, helpless as the flower
Borne on the rapids' swift resistless tide.
Ah, well that o'er the chasm deep and broad
The rainbow glitters like the smile of God!
| Poems Old and New by Charles D. Bell | |