Poems by William Cullen BryantBryant, William Cullen
General
Poems by William Cullen Bryant
Bryant, William Cullen
American poetry -- 19th century
_The flower
Of Sanguinaria, from whose brittle stem
The red drops fell like blood._
The _Sanguinaria Canadensis_, or blood-root, as it is commonly called,
bears a delicate white flower of a musky scent, the stem of which
breaks easily, and distils a juice of a bright red colour.
THE OLD MAN'S COUNSEL.
_The shad-bush, white with flowers,
Whitened the glens._
The small tree, named by the botanists _Aronia Botyrapium_, is called,
in some parts of our country, the shad-bush, from the circumstance
that it flowers about the time that the shad ascend the rivers in
early spring. Its delicate sprays, covered with white blossoms before
the trees are yet in leaf, have a singularly beautiful appearance in
the woods.
"_There hast thou," said my friend, "a fitting type
Of human life."_
I remember hearing an aged man, in the country, compare the slow
movement of time in early life and its swift flight as it approaches
old age, to the drumming of a partridge or ruffed grouse in the
woods--the strokes falling slow and distinct at first, and following
each other more and more rapidly, till they end at last in a whirring
sound.
AN EVENING REVERY.--FROM AN UNFINISHED POEM.
This poem and that entitled the Fountain, with one or two others in
blank verse, were intended by the author as portions of a larger poem,
in which they may hereafter take their place.
THE PAINTED CUP.
_The fresh savannas of the Sangamon
Here rise in gentle swells, and the long grass
Is mixed with rustling hazels. Scarlet tufts
Are glowing in the green, like flakes of fire._
The Painted Cup, _Euchroma Coccinea_, or _Bartsia Coccinea_, grows in
great abundance in the hazel prairies of the western states, where its
scarlet tufts make a brilliant appearance in the midst of the verdure.
The Sangamon is a beautiful river, tributary to the Illinois, bordered
with rich prairies.
NOON.
_At noon the Hebrew bowed the knee
And worshipped_
Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud, and he
shall hear my voice.--PSALM LV. 17.
THE WHITE-FOOTED DEER.
During the stay of Long's Expedition at Engineer Cantonment, three
specimens of a variety of the common deer were brought in, having all
the feet white near the hoofs, and extending to those on the hind
feet from a little above the spurious hoofs. This white extremity was
divided, upon the sides of the foot, by the general colour of the leg,
which extends down near to the hoofs, leaving a white triangle in
front, of which the point was elevated rather higher than the spurious
hoofs.--GODMAN'S NATURAL HISTORY, vol. ii. p 314.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account