Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
IV. Inland Waters: HighlandsThe Silence of the Hills
William Prescott Foster (b. 1856)T
Voices its heart in hoarse Titanic roar;
The ocean bellows from its rocky shore;
The cataract, that haunts the rugged steep,
Makes mighty music in its headlong leap;
The clouds have voices, and the rivers pour
Their floods in thunder down to ocean’s floor;—
The hills alone mysterious silence keep.
They cannot rend the ancient chain that bars
Their iron lips, nor answer back the sea
That calls to them far off in vain; the stars
They cannot hail, nor their wild brooks. Ah me!
What cries from out their stony hearts will break,
In God’s great day, when all that sleep shall wake!