Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]
About this Item
Title
Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]
Author
Ryan, Abram Joseph, 1836-1886
Publication
Baltimore, Md.: John B. Piet & Co.
1884
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"Poems : patriotic, religious, miscellaneous / by Abram J. Ryan [electronic text]." In the digital collection American Verse Project. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/BAD9548.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2024.
Pages
LAKE COMO.
Winter on the mountainsSummer on the shore,The robes of sun-gleams woven,The lake's blue wavelets wore.
Cold, white, against the heavens,Flashed winter's crown of snow,And the blossoms of the spring-tideWaved brightly far below.
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The mountain's head was dreary,The cold and cloud were there,But the mountain's feet were sandaledWith flowers of beauty rare.
And winding thro' the mountainsThe lake's calm wavelets rolled,And a cloudless sun was gildingTheir ripples with its gold.
Adown the lake we glidedThro' all the sunlit day;The cold snows gleamed above us,But fair flowers fringed our way
The snows crept down the mountain,The flowers crept up the slope,Till they seemed to meet and mingle,Like human fear and hope.
But the same rich, golden sunlightFell on the flowers and snow,Like the smile of God that flashesOn hearts in joy or woe.
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And on the lake's low marginThe trees wore stoles of green,While here and there, amid them,A convent cross was seen.
Anon a ruined castle,Moss-mantled, loomed in view,And cast its solemn shadowAcross the water's blue.
And chapel, cot, and villa,Met here and there our gaze,And many a crumbling towerThat told of other days.
And scattered o'er the watersThe fishing boats lay still,And sound of song so softlyCame echoed from the hill.
At times the mountain's shadowFell dark across the scene,And veiled with veil of purpleThe wavelets' silver sheen.
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But for a moment only;The lake would wind, and lo!The waves would near the gloryOf the sunlight's brightest glow.
At times there fell a silenceUnbroken by a tone,As if no sound of voicesHad ever there been known.
Through strange and lonely placesWe glided thus for hours;We saw no other facesBut the faces of the flowers.
The shores were sad and lonelyAs hearts without a love,While darker and more drearyThe mountains rose above.
But sudden round a headlandThe lake would sweep again,And voices from a villageWould meet us with their strain.
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Thus all the day we glided,Until the Vesper bellGave to the day, at sunset,Its sweet and soft farewell.
Then back again we glidedUpon our homeward way,When twilight wrapped the watersAnd the mountains with its gray.
But brief the reign of twilight,The night came quickly on;The dark brow o'er the mountains,Star-wreathed, brightly shone.
And down thro' all the shadowsThe star-gleams softly crept,And kissed, with lips all-shining,The wavelets ere they slept.
The lake lay in a slumber,The shadows for its screen,While silence waved her sceptreAbove the sleeping scene.
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The spirit of the darknessMoved, ghost-like, everywhere;Wherever starlight glimmered,Its shadow, sure, fell there.
The lone place grew more lonely,And all along our wayThe mysteries of the night-timeHeld undisputed sway.
Thro' silence and thro' darknessWe glided down the tideThat wound around the mountainsThat rose on either side.
No eyes would close in slumberWithin our little bark—What charmed us so in daylightSo awed us in the dark.
Upon the deck we lingered,A whisper scarce was heard;When hearts are stirred profoundest,Lips are without a word.
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"Let's say the Chaplet," softlyA voice beside me spake."Christ walked once in the darknessAcross an Eastern lake,
"And to-night we know the secretThat will charm Him to our side:If we call upon His Mother,He will meet us on the tide."
So we said the beads together,Up and down the little bark;And I believe that Jesus met us,With His Mother, in the dark.
And our prayers were scarcely endedWhen, on mountain-top afar,We beheld the morning meetingWith the night's last fading star.
And I left the lake; but neverShall the years to come effaceFrom my heart the dream and visionOf that strange and lonely place.
Feb. 1st, 1873
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