When the forest shall mislead me, When sea and land refuse to feed me, - From "WOODNOTES." HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW AMERICA, 1807-1882 Daybreak A wind came up out of the sea, And said, "O mists, make room for me." It hailed the ships, and cried, "Sail on, And hurried landward far away, It touched the wood-bird's folded wing, And o'er the farms, "O chanticleer, It whispered to the fields of corn, It shouted through the belfry-tower, It crossed the churchyard with a sigh, And he wandered away and away With Nature, the dear old nurse, Who sang to him night and day The rhymes of the universe. And whenever the way seemed long, She would sing a more wonderful song, Or tell a more marvelous tale. So she keeps him still a child, Though at times his heart beats wild Though at times he hears in his dreams And the rush of mountain streams From the glaciers clear and cold; And the mother at home says, "Hark! It is growing late and dark, And my boy does not return!" 10 15 20 5 10 15 20 Hymn to the Night I heard the trailing garments of the Night I saw her sable skirts all fringed with light I felt her presence, by its spell of might, The calm, majestic presence of the Night, I heard the sounds of sorrow and delight, That fill the haunted chambers of the Night, From the cool cisterns of the midnight air My spirit drank repose; The fountain of perpetual peace flows there, - O holy Night! from thee I learn to bear Thou layest thy finger on the lips of Care, Peace! Peace! Orestes-like I breathe this prayer! The welcome, the thrice-prayed for, the most fair, JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL AMERICA, 1819-1891 Longing Of all the myriad moods of mind So beautiful as Longing? The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment Can make its sneering comment. Still, through our paltry stir and strife, Helps make the soul immortal. |