Cambridge Poets 1900–1913

Constantine Michaelides . * THE FOREST OF MASSACHUSETTS BEFORE THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH . THE agelong rest of trees swept wide and far 1 Upon the breast of the unwakened earth , The silent forest spoke in changeless tongues The mystic speech of things as yet unborn , Wild roared and broke the sea upon the coast Wearing the aging patience of the rocks ; And out upon her never sail was seen To break the flowing pageant of the hours ; The rivers wound unfettered through the plains And told the listless listening forests tales Of far - off mountains , and the pathless sea Where footsteps live only in the dreams of men . At dawn the sun called forth the hosts of leaves Marshalled to hail him in bright green and gold , Paling before him in the light of noon , Rich - clad in evening , as though each still leaf Spoke strange dreams to the sky and setting sun In speech to men and beasts inscrutable . Then night , hushing the day , brought them to sleep , And , haunted , woke the phantoms of still shapes Tossing their muted shadows ' gainst the sky In wild - haired phantasy of plaint unseen . Mighty and stern the earthborn trunks beneath Bore up the mystic splendour of the leaves . Those trunks stood wrinkled with a thousand years And stern to seers as sailless masts in gales , 125