96
MONADNOC.
Round about, a hundred miles,
With invitation to the sea, and to the bordering isles.
In his own loom's garment dressed,
By his own bounty blessed,
Fast abides this constant giver,
Pouring many a cheerful river;
To far eyes, an aerial isle
Unploughed, which finer spirits pile,
Which morn and crimson evening paint
For bard, for lover, and for saint;
The country's core,
Inspirer, prophet evermore;
Pillar which God aloft had set
So that men might it not forget;
It should be their life's ornament,
And mix itself with each event;
Their calendar and dial,
Barometer and chemic phial,
Garden of berries, perch of birds,
Pasture of pool-haunting herds,
