Page:The Writings of John Green Whittier (v.1).pdf/285
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AMONG THE HILLS.
275
"And higher, warmed with summer lights,
Or winter-crowned and hoary,
The ridged horizon lifts for him
Its inner veils of glory.
Or winter-crowned and hoary,
The ridged horizon lifts for him
Its inner veils of glory.
"He has his own free, bookless lore,
The lessons nature taught him,
The wisdom which the woods and hills
And toiling men have brought him:
The lessons nature taught him,
The wisdom which the woods and hills
And toiling men have brought him:
"The steady force of will whereby
Her flexile grace seems sweeter;
The sturdy counterpoise which makes
Her woman's life completer.
Her flexile grace seems sweeter;
The sturdy counterpoise which makes
Her woman's life completer.
"A latent fire of soul which lacks
No breath of love to fan it;
And wit, that, like his native brooks,
Plays over solid granite.
No breath of love to fan it;
And wit, that, like his native brooks,
Plays over solid granite.
"How dwarfed against his manliness
She sees the poor pretension,
The wants, the aims, the follies, born
Of fashion and convention.
She sees the poor pretension,
The wants, the aims, the follies, born
Of fashion and convention.
"How life behind its accidents
Stands strong and self-sustaining,
The human fact transcending all
The losing and the gaining.
Stands strong and self-sustaining,
The human fact transcending all
The losing and the gaining.
"And so in grateful interchange
Of teacher and of hearer,
Their lives their true distinctness keep
While daily drawing nearer.
Of teacher and of hearer,
Their lives their true distinctness keep
While daily drawing nearer.