Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MONTALVO, by JOHN E. RICHARDS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MONTALVO, by                    
First Line: Within the patio I sit; a paroquet
Last Line: And lo! The terrestrial paradise is here!
Subject(s): Montalvo, California


Within the patio I sit; a paroquet
Swings from the palm, and odors faint and sweet
From blossoming vines and roses of Castile
Pervade the air with incense till I feel
The past bedim the present, and again
I am within a patio in old Spain.

I read the name, Montalvo, and I seem
To hear, as in a dream within a dream,
The old romancer as he sits amid
His vines and roses in Valladolid,
Telling his friends, who list as in a trance,
In that rich liquid language of romance,
Of Amadis and the wondrous isle that lies
So far away, so near to Paradise;
So realmed in beauty and so rich in gold.

The day-dream fades, the vision yet remains;
For in yon glorious hills and fruited plains
A fairer California glows and gleams
Than ever was in old Montalvo's dreams:
The past is present and the distant near,
And lo! the Terrestrial Paradise is here!





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