University of Virginia Library

[Whence is it mountains, forests, fields, and floods]

Whence is it mountains, forests, fields, and floods
Hold o'er the Mind of Man such influence strange?
Whence is it Nature's soul hath power
Its lights and shadows to impart
To man's chameleon-fashioned heart,
Which throbs in unison with her great moods,
And takes her Spirit's hues which vary every hour—
True to her every change?
Why is it, Morn, and Noon, and Eve,
The starry Night, the golden Day,
Can sadden, cheer, depress, beguile,
Each with peculiar sway?
Whence may it be
Some weather makes it difficult to grieve,
In some we scarce can smile?
Or why are we
So often gay, or sad, or proud,
As sun prevails, or rain or cloud?—
Why it is, I cannot tell,
But this I know full well,
There is a spell
Can make the tinkling rain
Which patters on the windows, seem
Melodious as the musing stream—
Make the low-moaning wind dispute
With the sweetly-stealing lute;
The wind and rain
Both strive in vain
To fling o'er fine-strung hearts their dark desponding chain!
It is the beauty of a certain cheek,
Of eyes in which the pensive soul doth speak;
It is the sweetness of a certain face
Where softness sits serene, and purity and grace!
The soft, the downy hand,
Timid, unresisting, warm—
The smile affectionate—the undesigning glance—
These, these can charm
The heavy Heart to joy, the moody Mind entrance!
Ay! let the Sun refuse his light—
Love's dullest day is still with more than sunshine bright!
And let the Cloud descend in gloom—
With inborn radiance Love can murkiest sky illume!
The scenes which Love has lighted
Are never darkened more;
But Memory backward-flighted,
Doth on their glory pore!
For, as the Rocket's track is seen,
Gemmed with drops of starry sheen,
Though dark the path, or rude or mean—
Love leaves a trail of light wherever he hath been!