The Poetical Works of Jonathan E. Hoag/Avalon
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Avalon
O Avalon, fair Avalon,
Bride of the deep blue sea,
About thee pass quaint barks of glass
To solve thy mystery!
Upon thy briny waves they ride
About thy rocky shore;
And travelers view the bottom through
Wonders of ocean's floor.
Down in thy waters, deep and warm,
Strange magic blossoms grow,
From higher clime by sportive Time
Cast to the gulfs below.
From craggy heights of hoary stone
The questing sight may spy
A mighty sweep where azure deep
Joins with the azure sky.
Whence earnest thou, gray island peak;
Whence earnest thou, and when?
Didst spring of old from Vulcan's fold,
His chosen comrade then?
Did thy young eyes behold above
The vault we know today,
Or did strange lights illume the nights
With many a cryptic ray?
What mystic subterranean powers
Raised thee so tall and proud?
Did Vulcan's horde the aid afford,
'Mid tumults wild and loud?
Thus torn in fire from ancient earth
And thrust amidst the blue,
Thy sides must e'er sustain the wear
Of Neptune's boisterous crew.
And now upon thy towering heights
We sit transfixed, enthralled!
Here the Muse wakes, and silence breaks,
By dreamy Nature called.
Behold the distant white-winged ships
That o'er the waters glide;
And spouting whales that breast the gales
And love the heaving tide!
Could we but draw the primal scene,
When first this rock arose;
When new-born skies turned sightless eyes
On pathless, lone repose!
Hail Catalina's lovely clime!
Where Nature's every grace
Our eager view beneath the blue
In ecstacy can trace!
Bride of the deep blue sea,
About thee pass quaint barks of glass
To solve thy mystery!
Upon thy briny waves they ride
About thy rocky shore;
And travelers view the bottom through
Wonders of ocean's floor.
Down in thy waters, deep and warm,
Strange magic blossoms grow,
From higher clime by sportive Time
Cast to the gulfs below.
From craggy heights of hoary stone
The questing sight may spy
A mighty sweep where azure deep
Joins with the azure sky.
Whence earnest thou, gray island peak;
Whence earnest thou, and when?
Didst spring of old from Vulcan's fold,
His chosen comrade then?
Did thy young eyes behold above
The vault we know today,
Or did strange lights illume the nights
With many a cryptic ray?
What mystic subterranean powers
Raised thee so tall and proud?
Did Vulcan's horde the aid afford,
'Mid tumults wild and loud?
Thus torn in fire from ancient earth
And thrust amidst the blue,
Thy sides must e'er sustain the wear
Of Neptune's boisterous crew.
And now upon thy towering heights
We sit transfixed, enthralled!
Here the Muse wakes, and silence breaks,
By dreamy Nature called.
Behold the distant white-winged ships
That o'er the waters glide;
And spouting whales that breast the gales
And love the heaving tide!
Could we but draw the primal scene,
When first this rock arose;
When new-born skies turned sightless eyes
On pathless, lone repose!
Hail Catalina's lovely clime!
Where Nature's every grace
Our eager view beneath the blue
In ecstacy can trace!
O Avalon, Fair Avalon,
Pearl in the ocean pale;
Thy memories stay, though far away
Our barks reluctant sail.
Pearl in the ocean pale;
Thy memories stay, though far away
Our barks reluctant sail.
1920