The Retrospect: Cwm Elan, 1812

A scene, which 'wildered fancy viewed In the soul's coldest solitude, With that same scene when peaceful love Flings rapture's colour o'er the grove, When mountain, meadow, wood and stream With unalloying glory gleam, And to the spirit's ear and eye Are unison and harmony. The moonlight was my dearer day; Then would I wander far away, And, lingering on the wild brook's shore To hear its unremitting roar, Would lose in the ideal flow All sense of overwhelming woe; Or at the noiseless noon of night Would climb some heathy mountain's height, And listen to the mystic sound That stole in fitful gasps around.…