31.12.2010, 12:14
THE NEEDLES' LIGHTHOUSE FROM KEYHAVEN, HAMPSHIRE.
The downs and tender-tinted cliffs are lost,
And nothing but the guardian fire remains —
That crimson -headed tower on the rough coast,
Whose steady lustre ceases not, nor wanes.
Till sunrise from the east reveals to us
The mighty Vectian wold, and tawny tract
Of shingle, seen through bowers of arbutus.
Like some fair corn-field, mellow and compact.
How that deep glow the deepening gloom attests !
How much is by that noble lighthouse taught !
Mine eye rests on it, as the spirit rests
In sorrow, on some holy, ardent thought.
The sole beam in our darkness ! Those who dwell
Near these great beacons are instructed well.
The downs and tender-tinted cliffs are lost,
And nothing but the guardian fire remains —
That crimson -headed tower on the rough coast,
Whose steady lustre ceases not, nor wanes.
Till sunrise from the east reveals to us
The mighty Vectian wold, and tawny tract
Of shingle, seen through bowers of arbutus.
Like some fair corn-field, mellow and compact.
How that deep glow the deepening gloom attests !
How much is by that noble lighthouse taught !
Mine eye rests on it, as the spirit rests
In sorrow, on some holy, ardent thought.
The sole beam in our darkness ! Those who dwell
Near these great beacons are instructed well.