Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Holland: Vols. XIV–XV. 1876–79. | | | | Introductory to Belgium | | The Storks | | James Thomson (1834–1882) |
| | (From Autumn)
WHERE the Rhine loses his majestic force | |
| In Belgian plains, won from the raging deep, | |
| By diligence amazing, and the strong | |
| Unconquerable hand of Liberty, | |
| The stork-assembly meets; for many a day, | 5 |
| Consulting deep and various ere they take | |
| Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky: | |
| And now their route designed, their leaders chose, | |
| Their tribes adjusted, cleaned their vigorous wings; | |
| And many a circle, many a short essay, | 10 |
| Wheeled round and round, in congregation full | |
| The figured flight ascends; and, riding high | |
| The aerial billows, mixes with the clouds. | | | | |
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