Through woods and mountain passes The winds, like anthems, roll; They are chanting solemn masses, Singing; "Pray for this poor soul, And the hooded clouds, like friars, There he stands in the foul weather, Crowned with wild flowers and with heather, Like weak, despised Lear, Then comes the summer-like day, Bids the old man rejoice! His joy! his last! O, the old man gray, Gentle and low. To the crimson woods he saith, Of the soft air, like a daughter's breath,"Pray do not mock me so! Do not laugh at me!" And now the sweet day is dead; No stain from its breath is spread Over the glassy skies, No mist or stain ! Then, too, the Old Year dieth, And the forests utter a moan, Like the voice of one who crieth In the wilderness alone, "Vex not his ghost!" Then comes, with an awful roar, The storm-wind from Labrador, The wind Euroclydon, The storm-wind! Howl! howl! and from the forest Sweep the red leaves away! Would, the sins that thou abhorrest, O Soul! could thus decay, And be swept away! |