POEMS

COMPOSED OR SUGGESTED DURING A TOUR IN THE SUMMER OF 1833

XXIII. IN THE FRITH OF CLYDE, AILSA CRAG

DURING AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, JULY 17

          SINCE risen from ocean, ocean to defy,
          Appeared the crag of Ailsa, ne'er did morn
          With gleaming lights more gracefully adorn
          His sides, or wreathe with mist his forehead high:
          Now, faintly darkening with the sun's eclipse,
          Still is he seen, in lone sublimity,
          Towering above the sea and little ships;
          For dwarfs the tallest seem while sailing by,
          Each for her haven; with her freight of Care,
          Pleasure, or Grief, and Toil that seldom looks              10
          Into the secret of to-morrow's fare;
          Though poor, yet rich, without the wealth of books,
          Or aught that watchful Love to Nature owes
          For her mute Powers, fixed Forms, or transient Shows.