Scene: A Wood, near Keswick, belonging to Greenwich Hospital.
Beneath the shadow of an ancient oak,
Dreaming I lay, far ‘mid a solemn wood,
When a noise like thunder stirred the solitude,
And from that trance I suddenly awoke!
A noble tree came crashing to the ground,
Through the dark forest opening out a glade;
While all its hundred branches stretching round,
Crushed the tall hazels in its ample shade.
Methought, the vanquished monarch as he died
Uttered a groan: while loud and taunting cheers
The woodmen raised o’er him whose stubborn pride
Had braved the seasons for an hundred years.
It seemed a savage shout, a senseless scorn,
Nor long prevailed amid the awful gloom;
Sad looked the forest of her glory shorn,
Reverend with age, yet bright in vigour’s bloom,
Slain in his hour of strength, a giant in his tomb.
I closed mine eyes, nor could I brook to gaze
On the wild havoc in one moment done;
Hateful to me shone forth the bless
(John Wilson)
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Based on Topics: Sadness Poems, Age Poems, Solitude Poems, Dreaming PoemsBased on Keywords: woodmen, greenwich, keswick