Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Switzerland and Austria: Vol. XVI. 1876–79. | | | | Switzerland: Grütli | | On a Flower from the Field of Grütli | | Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) |
| | | WHENCE art thou, flower? from holy ground, | |
| Where freedom’s foot hath been! | |
| Yet bugle-blast or trumpet sound | |
| Ne’er shook that solemn scene. | |
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| Flower of a noble field! thy birth | 5 |
| Was not where spears have crossed, | |
| And shivered helms have strewn the earth, | |
| Midst banners won and lost. | |
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| But where the sunny hues and showers | |
| Unto thy cup were given, | 10 |
| There met high hearts at midnight hours, | |
| Pure hands were raised to heaven. | |
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| And vows were pledged that man should roam | |
| Through every Alpine dell, | |
| Free as the wind, the torrent’s foam, | 15 |
| The shaft of William Tell. | |
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| And prayer, the full deep flow of prayer, | |
| Hallowed the pastoral sod, | |
| And souls grew strong for battle there, | |
| Nerved with the peace of God. | 20 |
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| Before the Alps and stars they knelt, | |
| That calm devoted band, | |
| And rose, and made their spirits felt | |
| Through all the mountain land. | |
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| Then welcome Grütli’s free-born flower! | 25 |
| Even in thy pale decay | |
| There dwells a breath, a tone, a power, | |
| Which all high thoughts obey. | | | | |
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