The rolling earth stops
As I climb to the summit,
Then like a plummet
It suddenly drops...
Down, down I go--
Past rippling acres;
Hillsides like breakers
Over me flow.
Wildly alive
I hail the green shimmer,
Fresh as a swimmer
After the dive.
Like banners unfurled
The skies dip and flourish--
The keen breezes nourish,
While the bright world
Is a ribbon unrolled
With a border of grasses;
And tansies are masses
And splotches of gold.
Still I whirl on--
Startled, a sparrow
Darts from the yarrow,
Flash--and is gone...
Faster the gleams
Die as they dazzle--
And roadsides of basil
Turn to pink streams.
Sharp as a knife
Is each perfume and color.
To feel nothing duller--
God, that were Life!