West Point
by Henry Theodore Tuckerman�(1813�1871) |
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WILD umbrage far around me clings
To breezy knoll and
hushed ravine,
And o'er each rocky headland flings
Its
mantle of refreshing green.
The echoes that so boldly
rung
When cannon flashed from steep to steep,
And
Freedom's airy challenge flung,
In each romantic valley
sleep.
His counsels here our chieftain breathed,
Here roved his mild, undaunted eye,
When yon lone fort,
with thickets wreathed,
Held captive Britain's gallant
spy.
Fit home to rear a nation's youth
By
self-control to nerve the will,
Through knowledge gain
expansive truth,
And with high aims life's circle fill.
How grateful is the sudden change
From arid pavements
to the grass,
From narrow streets that thousands range,
To meadows where June's zephyrs pass!
Beneath the
cliffs the river steals
In darksome eddies to the shore,
But midway every sail reveals
Reflected on its crystal
floor.
In tranquil mood the cattle walk
Along the
verdant marge to feed,
While poised upon the mullein
stalk
The chirping redbird picks the seed.
Low
murmurs in the foliage bred,
The clear horizon's azure
line,
Fresh turf elastic to the tread,
And leafy
canopies are thine.
White fleecy clouds move slowly
by,
How cool their shadows fall to-day!
A moment on
the hills they lie,
And then like spirits glide away.
Amid the herbage, yesternight,
His web the cunning
spider threw,
And now, as sparkling diamonds bright,
It glistens with the pendent dew.
Gay butterflies
dart on and sink
O'er the sweet blossoms of the pea,
And from the clover's globe of pink
Contented hums the
downy bee.
In all this varied beauty glows
Deep
meaning for the thoughtful heart,
As it were fain to
teach repose,
And lofty confidence impart.
How
vivid to my fancy now,
Uprise the forms that
life redeem!
The ardent eye, the open brow,
And tender
smile beside me seem.
For Nature's presence gathers
back
The deeds that grace, the loves that cheer,
And
as her holy steps we track,
Hope's rainbow breaks through
sorrow's tear. |
By Henry Theodore Tuckerman�(1813�1871)
Listed October 4, 2014 |
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