Poem by Charles Sangster

Lyric to the Isles

Here the spirit of Beauty keepeth
  Jubilee for evermore;
Here the voice of Gladness leapeth,
  Echoing from shore to shore.
O'er the hidden watery valley,
  O'er each buried wood and glade,
Dances our delighted galley,
  Through the sunlight and the shade;
    Dances o'er the granite cells,
    Where the soul of Beauty dwells;

Here the flowers are ever springing,
  While the summer breezes blow;
Here the Hours are ever clinging,
  Loitering before they go;
Playing round each beauteous islet,
  Loath to leave the sunny shore,
Where, upon her couch of violet,
  Beauty sits for evermore;
    Sits and smiles by day and night,
    Hand in hand with pure Delight.

Here the spirit of Beauty dwelleth
  In each palpitating tree,
In each amber wave that welleth
  From its home beneath the sea;
In the moss upon the granite
  In each calm, secluded bay,
With the zephyr trains that fan it
  With their sweet breaths all the day–
    On the waters, on the shore,
    Beauty dwelleth evermore!

1. The Soldiers of the Plough
2. Harvest Hymn
3. The Plains of Abraham

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