Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.
To , on Her First Ascent to the Summit of Helvellyn
By William Wordsworth (17701850)I
Thou hast clomb aloft, and gazed
From the watch-towers of Helvellyn;
Awed, delighted, and amazed!
Not unwilling to obey;
For blue Ether’s arms, flung round thee,
Stilled the pantings of dismay.
What a vast abyss is there!
Lo the clouds, the solemn shadows,
And the glistenings,—heavenly fair!
Which a thousand ridges yield;
Ridge and gulf and distant ocean
Gleaming like a silver shield!
Alps or Andes,—they are thine!
With the morning’s roseate spirit,
Sweep their length of snowy line;
In the gorgeous colors drest
Flung from off the purple pinions
Evening spreads throughout the west!
Warbling in each sparry vault
Of the untrodden lunar mountains;
Listen to their songs!—or halt,
Whither spiteful Satan steered;
Or descend where the ark alighted,
When the green earth reappeared;—
As was witnessed through thine eye
Then, when old Helvellyn won thee
To confess their majesty!