Page:Poems Dorr.djvu/136

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
116
VERMONT
    And poet-tongues are manifold;
    And he is bold who tries to wake,
    Even for God or Country's sake,
    In voice, or pen, or lute, or lyre,
    Sparks of the old Promethean fire!

III.

And yet—O Earth, thank God!—the soul of song
Is as immortal as the eternal stars!
O trembling heart! take courage and be strong.
Hark! to a voice from yonder crystal bars:

   "Did the roses blow last June?
    Do the stars still vise and set?
   And over the crests of the mountains
    Are the light clouds floating yet?
   Do the rivers run to the sea
    With a deep, resistless flow?
   Do the little birds sing north and south
    As the seasons come and go?

   "Are the hills as fair as of old?
    Are the skies as blue and far?
   Have you lost the pomp of the sunset,
    Or the light of the evening star?
   Has the glory gone from the morning?
    Do the wild winds wail no move?
   Is there now no thunder of billows
    Beating the storm-lashed shore?

   "Is Love a forgotten story?
    Is Passion a jester's theme?
   Has Valor thrown down its armor?
    Is Honor an idle dream?