UNDER THE ALDERS
Here within the alder's shadow, in this cool retreat,
Sheltered by the leafy branches
From the scorching heat;
I have found a sweet seclusion
From all outward things,
Flinging every care and worry
On the zephyr's wings.
Sheltered by the leafy branches
From the scorching heat;
I have found a sweet seclusion
From all outward things,
Flinging every care and worry
On the zephyr's wings.
In the liquid depths and ripples of the slumbrous stream,
With the wild-bird's song vibrating
Vine-wreathed banks between,
I have sunk life's proud ambitions
And her petty strife,
Gleaning fresher thought and vigor
For the march of life.
With the wild-bird's song vibrating
Vine-wreathed banks between,
I have sunk life's proud ambitions
And her petty strife,
Gleaning fresher thought and vigor
For the march of life.
Could I ask a throne more charming than this rocky ledge,
Sloping down in gradual cadence
To the water's edge?
Could I ask a song more thrilling
Than the anthem sung
By choristers coquetting
Dark-green boughs among?
Sloping down in gradual cadence
To the water's edge?
Could I ask a song more thrilling
Than the anthem sung
By choristers coquetting
Dark-green boughs among?
Not a sound to interrupt them comes from groves or hills,
Here they chatter, scream and carol
At their own sweet wills;
Save that down the dusty road-way, winding bare and brown,
Now and then a carriage passes
To the distant town,
Or some teamster noisily rattles o'er the wooden bridge,
Making all the sleeping echoes
Bound from ridge to ridge.
Here they chatter, scream and carol
At their own sweet wills;
Save that down the dusty road-way, winding bare and brown,
Now and then a carriage passes
To the distant town,
Or some teamster noisily rattles o'er the wooden bridge,
Making all the sleeping echoes
Bound from ridge to ridge.
[ 80 ]
