The hills have on their royal robes
Of purple and of gold,
And over their tops the autumn clouds
In heaps are onward rolled;
Below them spreads the fairest plain
That British eye may see,–
From Quantock to the Mendip range,
A broad expanse and free.
As from those barriers, gray and vast,
Rolled off the morning mist,
Leaving the eyesight unrestrained
To wander where it list,
So roll thou ancient chronicler,
The ages’ mist away;
Give me an hour of vision clear,
A dream of the former day.
At once the flood of the Severn sea
Flowed over half the plain,
And a hundred capes, with huts and trees,
Above the flood remain:
‘Tis water here and water there,
And the lordly Parret’s way
Hath never a trace on its pathless face–
As in the former day.
Of shining sails that thronged that stream
There resteth never a one;
But a little ship to that inland sea
Comes bounding in alone;
With stretch of sail and tug of oar
It comes full merrily,
And the sailors chant, as they pass the shore,
Tibi gloria Domine.
“Nights and days on the watery ways
Our vessel hath slidden on,
Our arms have never tired of toil,
Our stores have long been done;
Sweet Jesus hath sped us over the wave,
By coasts and along the sea,
And we sing, as we pass each rising land,
Tibi gloria Domine.
“Sweet Jesus hath work for us to do
In a land of promise fair;
Our vessel is steered by an angel–hand
Until it bring us there:
To our Captain given, a sign from heaven
Our token true shall be;
And we sing, as we wait for the Promise–sign,
Tibi gloria Domine.
“When a dark–green hill shall spire aloft
Into the pure blue sky,
Most like to Tabor’s holy mount
Of vision blest and high;
Straight to that hill our bounding prow
Unguided shall pass and free;
Sweet Jesus hath spoken, and we believe:
Tibi gloria Domine.”
Thus far they sung, and at once a shout
Pealed upward loud and clear;
For lo, the vessel onward ran
With never a hand to steer;
And full in sight that Promise–hill
Towered up into the sky,
Most like to Tabor’s holy mount
Of vision blest and high.
Now raise the song, ye faithful crew,
Let all the uplands hear;
It fitteth Salvation’s messengers
To be of joyous cheer;
For Avalon isle ye make the while,
By angel–pilot’s hand;
Right onward for that pointed hill,
Straight to the sloping land.
Each arm is resting, and every eye
With thankful tear is bright;
Thus spake one high upon the prow,
Feeding his forward sight:
“The word of God is just and true,
And the mountains green that stand
To the left and right in the morning light
Lead on to our Promise–land.
“Sweet Jesus hath broken the sepulchre,
And pours His golden grace,
Clothing the earth with the joy of birth,
In every fairest place:
His servant asked a token sure,
And a token sure is given;
And He that lay in the garden–tomb
Is Lord of earth and heaven.”
By this the vessel had floated nigh
To the turf upon the strand,
And first that holy man of joy
Stepped on the Promise–land;
Until the rest, in order blest,
Were ranged, and kneeling there,
Gave blessing to the God of heaven
In a lowly–chanted prayer.
Then over the brow of the seaward hill
In their order blest they pass,
At every change in the psalmody
Kissing the holy grass;
Till they come where they may see full near
That pointed mountain rise,
Darkening with its ancient cone
The light of the eastern skies.
“This staff hath borne me long and well,”
Then spake that Saint divine,
“Over mountain and over plain,
In quest of the Promise–sign;
For aye let it stand in this western land,
And God do more to me
If there ring not out from this realm about,
Tibi gloria Domine.”
A cloud is on them–the vision is changed–
And voices of melody,
And a ring of harps, like twinkles bright,
Come over the inland sea;
Long and loud is the chant of praise–
The hallowed ages glide;
And once again the mist from the plain
Rolls up the Mendip side.
With mourning stole and solemn step,
Up that same seaward hill,
There moved of ladies and of knights
A company sad and still;
There went before an open bier,
And, sleeping in a charm,
With face to heaven and folded palms,
There lay an arm
(Henry Alford)
More Poetry from Henry Alford:
Henry Alford Poems based on Topics: Light, Joy & Excitement, God, Heaven, Sense & Perception, Fairness, Sleep, Dreams, Nature, Prayers, Morning- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Fifth. (Henry Alford Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Sixth (Henry Alford Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Fourth. (Henry Alford Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Second. (Henry Alford Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The First (Henry Alford Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Third. (Henry Alford Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: God Poems, Light Poems, Nature Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Heaven Poems, Fairness Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Dreams Poems, Place Poems, Sleep Poems, Gold PoemsBased on Keywords: dark-green, unguided, tibi, resteth, chronicler, psalmody, them-the, mendip, fitteth, quantock, slidden
- Tennants Anster Fair (Joseph Rodman Drake Poems)
- A Poem On The African Slave Trade. Addressed To Her Own Sex. Part II (Mary Birkett Card Poems)
- The Battle Of The Lake Regillus (Thomas Babbington Macaulay Poems)
- Paradise Regain'd : Book I. (John Milton Poems)
- Paradise Regain'd : Book II. (John Milton Poems)