Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
France: Vols. IX–X. 1876–79.
On the Bridge at Poissy
By Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829–1925)T
At Poissy on the Seine,
As I leant above the river,
Flooded high with summer rain.
Dear is that royal river;
With ceaseless, noiseless flow,
Past the gray towers of Paris
From the woods of Fontainebleau!
In the rosy sunset air;
The silver chimes were ringing,
“Christians, come to prayer!”
And I thought the invitation
Uttered ever, eve and morn,
Was the voice of good St. Louis
In the town where he was born!
Musing softly all alone,
The bells and birds together
Seemed blended into one;
The rapturous thrill of nature,
So soulless, yet so fair,
Borne up upon the wingéd chimes,
“Christians, come to prayer!”
With its islets crowned by trees,
Fringed by spires of lofty poplars
Trembling in the summer breeze.
Fair is the antique city,
And its church is white as snow;
Built and blessed by good St. Louis,
Built and blessed so long ago!
By the waters of the Seine;
Where he trod, his kingdom blossomed;
Where he built, his stones remain;
Where he knelt, his pious accents
Linger softly on the air.
Join, sweet birds, your invitation!
“Christians, come to prayer!”