Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FRAGMENTS FROM A METRICAL JOURNAL: ANDERNACHT, by JOHN RUSKIN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FRAGMENTS FROM A METRICAL JOURNAL: ANDERNACHT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Twilight's mists are gathering grey
Last Line: The owl and bat are tenants there.
Subject(s): Andernacht, Germany


TWILIGHT'S mists are gathering grey
Round us on our winding way;
Yet the mountain's purple crest
Reflects the glories of the west.
Rushing on with giant force,
Rolls the Rhine his glorious course;
Flashing, now, with flamy red,
O'er his jagg'd basaltic bed;
Now, with current calm and wide,
Sweeping round the mountain's side;
Ever noble, proud, and free,
Flowing in his majesty.
Soon upon the evening skies
Andernacht's grim ruins rise;
Buttress, battlement and tower,
Remnants hoar of Roman power.
Monuments of Cæsar's sway,
Piecemeal mouldering away.
Lo, together loosely thrown,
Sculptured head and lettered stone;
Guardless now the arch-way steep
To rampart huge and frowning keep;
The empty moat is gay with flowers,
The night-wind whistles through the towers,
And, flapping in the silent air,
The owl and bat are tenants there.





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