SUNRISE ON THE HILLS

I stood upon the hills, when heaven's wide arch
Was glorious with the sun's returning march,
And woods were brightened, and soft gales
Went forth to kiss the sun-clad vales.
The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light,
They gathered mid-way round the wooded height,
And, in their fading glory, shone
Like hosts in battle overthrown.
As many a pinnacle, with shifting glance.
Through the gray mist thrust up its shattered lance,
And rocking on the cliff was left
The dark pine blasted, bare, and cleft.
The veil of cloud was lifted, and below
Glowed the rich valley, and the river's flow
Was darkened by the forest's shade,
Or glistened in the white cascade;
Where upward, in the mellow blush of day,
The noisy bittern wheeled his spiral way.

I heard the distant waters dash,
I saw the current whirl and flash,
And richly, by the blue lake's silver beach,
The woods were bending with a silent reach.
Then o'er the vale, with gentle swell,
The music of the village bell
Came sweetly to the echo-giving hills;
And the wild horn, whose voice the woodland fills,
Was ringing to the merry shout,
That faint and far the glen sent out,
Where, answering to the sudden shot, thin smoke,
Through thick-leaved branches, from the dingle broke.

If thou art worn and hard beset
With sorrows, that thou wouldst forget,
If thou wouldst read a lesson, that will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep,
Go to the woods and hills! No tears
Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Damn...ain't that the truth? I plan on going hiking this weekend on Saturday in the Santa Monica hills. O.K., it's not quite as nice as the sentiments echoed in this poem, but hell, I have quite an imagination. So did Longfellow, I'd venture. I used to kind of hate going out in the woods and dealing with nature; I have bad allergic reaction to all things natural. Dogs, cats, pollen, you name it. Since I've been exposing myself back out into nature on hikes and my vacations, however, I've started to see what people appreciate about it. Walking through a peaceful forest by yourself can make you forget about just about everything for a while; it's almost a zen like experience. It must be why people buy those stupid cds with sounds of the forest or beach on them.