|
Henry Vaughan the
Silurist (1621-1695)
The Waterfall from Silex Scintillans (1650).
- 1
With what deep murmurs through time's silent stealth
- 2
Doth thy transparent, cool, and wat'ry wealth
- 3
Here flowing fall,
- 4
And chide, and call,
- 5
As if his liquid, loose retinue stay'd
- 6
Ling'ring, and were of this steep place afraid;
- 7
The common pass
- 8
Where, clear as glass,
- 9
All must descend
- 10
Not to an end,
- 11
But quicken'd by this deep and rocky grave,
- 12
Rise to a longer course more bright and brave.
- 13
Dear stream! dear bank, where often I
- 14
Have sate and pleas'd my pensive eye,
- 15
Why, since each drop of thy quick store
- 16
Runs thither whence it flow'd before,
- 17
Should poor souls fear a shade or night,
- 18
Who came, sure, from a sea of light?
- 19
Or since those drops are all sent back
- 20
So sure to thee, that none doth lack,
- 21
Why should frail flesh doubt any more
- 22
That what God takes, he'll not restore?
- 23
O useful element and clear!
- 24
My sacred wash and cleanser here,
- 25
My first consigner unto those
- 26
Fountains of life where the Lamb goes!
- 27
What sublime truths and wholesome themes
- 28
Lodge in thy mystical deep streams!
- 29
Such as dull man can never find
- 30
Unless that Spirit lead his mind
- 31
Which first upon thy face did move,
- 32
And hatch'd all with his quick'ning love.
- 33
As this loud brook's incessant fall
- 34
In streaming rings restagnates all,
- 35
Which reach by course the bank, and then
- 36
Are no more seen, just so pass men.
- 37
O my invisible estate,
- 38
My glorious liberty, still late!
- 39
Thou art the channel my soul seeks,
- 40
Not this with cataracts and creeks.
John Muir "Our
National Parks"
"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is
going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only
as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life"
|
-
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time, to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
- I HEAR leaves drinking rain;
- I hear rich leaves on top
- Giving the poor beneath
- Drop after drop;
- 'Tis a sweet noise to hear
- These green leaves drinking near.dormitory
And when the Sun comes out,
- After this Rain shall stop,
- A wondrous Light will fill
- Each dark, round drop;
- I hope the Sun shines bright;
- 'Twill be a lovely sight.
W.H. Davies
- My
mind has thunderstorms,
That brood for heavy hours:
Until they rain me words,
My thoughts are drooping flowers
And sulking, silent birds.
Yet come, dark thunderstorms,
And brood your heavy hours;
For when you rain me words,
My thoughts are dancing flowers
And joyful singing birds.
W.H. Davies
The
Physicians of Myddfai a striking tale from the Mabinogion featuring
Llyn Y Fan Fach in the Carmarthen Fans.
|
