STRANGER! whose steps have reach'd this solitude, Know that this lonely spot was dear to one Devoted with no unrequited zeal To nature. Here, delighted he has heard The rustling of these woods, that now perchance Melodious to the gale of summer move, And underneath their shade on yon smooth rock With grey and yellow lichens overgrown, Often reclined, watching the silent flow Of this perspicuous rivulet, that steals Along its verdant course, till all around Had fill'd his senses with tranquillity, And ever sooth'd in spirit he return'd A happier, better man. Stranger, perchance Therefore the stream more lovely to thine eye Will glide along, and to the summer gale The woods wave more melodious. Cleanse thou then The weeds and mosses from this letter'd stone. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX by ROBERT BROWNING THE PESSIMIST by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN KING THE LION'S SKELETON by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER KINDNESS TO ANIMALS by JOSEPH ASHBY-STERRY DEDICATION OF THE DESIGNS TO BLAIR'S GRAVE: TO THE QUEEN by WILLIAM BLAKE |