Page:Poems Sigourney 1827.pdf/130

130 In clustering foliage. Verdant girdles bind The hillocks rock-emboss'd,—while here and there, The white cascade, half curtain'd, leaps to join The expecting streamlet.—Here the silent sage Might ruminate,—the anchorite obtain A favourite cell,—or the meek christian view Him smile, who ever in his works is found By those who search aright.— —O'er the expanse Of glittering waters glides the snowy sail;— The lilliputian boat by infants mann'd, Steers amid fairy islets, circles round The indented shore,—and in a tiny bay Makes its safe harbour.—Up in boldness springs A steep promontory,—the pure, waveless stream Circles its base, while its indignant brow Frowns through a helmet of deep forest green, Nodding in lofty plumes.—But as we gaze An unexpected gloom pervades the sky Of summer's beauty.—From the wat'ry glass Gleam strong reflections of the warrior clouds Rushing to battle. The black tempest lifts Its mighty banner.—Prompt with missile shafts, Red lightning threatens,—awful thunders roar, And in wild deluge falls the hasty rain.— Yet, in the kindlings of this fearful wrath Nature is graceful still. —She may not blot The impress of her Maker,—and the heart That loves him,—loves the tablet he hath traced Even on the hostile cloud.—