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Home  »  An American Anthology, 1787–1900  »  1329 As I Came Down Mount Tamalpais

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By ClarenceUrmy

1329 As I Came Down Mount Tamalpais

AS I came down Mount Tamalpais,

To north the fair Sonoma Hills

Lay like a trembling thread of blue

Beneath a sky of daffodils;

Through tules green a silver stream

Ran south to meet the tranquil bay,

Whispering a dreamy, tender tale

Of vales and valleys far away.

As I came down Mount Tamalpais,

To south the city brightly shone,

Touched by the sunset’s good-night kiss

Across the golden ocean blown;

I saw its hills, its tapering masts,

I almost heard its tramp and tread,

And saw against the sky the cross

Which marks the City of the Dead.

As I came down Mount Tamalpais

To east San Pablo’s water lay,

Touched with a holy purple light,

The benediction of the day;

No ripple on its twilight tide,

No parting of its evening veil,

Save dimly in the far-off haze

One dreamy, yellow sunset sail.

As I came down Mount Tamalpais,

To west Heaven’s gateway opened wide,

And through it, freighted with day-cares,

The cloud-ships floated with the tide;

Then, silently through stilly air,

Starlight flew down from Paradise,

Folded her silver wings and slept

Upon the slopes of Tamalpais.