The Beauty of Nature

Divinely gentle, the winds carry

My wayward soul; sublime

Mountain peaks pierce the low

Leafage of roseate clouds, and

Disappear moments later beneath,

As if rising and falling on that

Misty tide of lovely, soft fluff.

Sun strews its light-petals across

The moss-trodden crags an’ howls;

Shadows playing, jumping from

Rock to rock, from one solitary tree,

An evergreen thriving in scarcity,

To another. O, and the flowers, shards

Of rainbow-light! how every color

Falls in its place, and how exuberantly

Their shine, heavenly even, swells

Up in the eyes! O tears, o joy! How still

In beauty, the nature, and yet ever-

Changing! You rocky crowns of Alps,

The Bavarian evergreen forests,

The gushing Swiss streams; you gold

Of Europe, treasure of the world!

When I gaze upon the still, the beautiful,

I cannot but, tearful, fall on my knees

In awe-full amazement and joy! Kingly

Nature, cradle of Man! your gifts oft

We overlook; yet your loving arms,

All-embracing, are ever-welcoming!

O, mother, o holy spirit manifest!

My weary soul you revitalize, my waning

Flames you embolden and tame the wild

And wayward embers! O, love! O, sorrow!

You equalize each and every, light an’ dark,

Death and life; for all wilts and blossoms,

All comes and goes, but your beauty remains

Virgin, forever young - forever mine!