Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Americas: Vol. XXX. 1876–79. | | | | British America: Elora, Canada | | Elora | | Alexander McLachlan (1820–1896) |
| | | O LOVELY Elora! thy valley and stream | |
| Still dwell in my heart like a beautiful dream; | |
| And everything peaceful and gentle I see | |
| Brings back to my bosom some image of thee. | |
| I ’ve roamed this Dominion allured by the beam | 5 |
| Of wild woodland beauty by valley and stream; | |
| From lone Manitoulin all down to the sea; | |
| But found not a spot, sweet Elora, like thee. | |
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| There ’s lone rocky grandeur away at the Sound, | |
| And down the St. Lawrence wild beauties abound; | 10 |
| Quebec, towering proudly, looks down on the sea, | |
| And lone Gananoque, there ’s beauty in thee; | |
| And Barrie, the lady that sits by the lake, | |
| Oh, would I could sing a sweet song for her sake! | |
| But here in thy beauty a-listening the fall, | 15 |
| O lovely Elora! thou ’rt queen of them all. | |
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| If friends should forsake me, or fortune depart, | |
| Or love fly and leave a great void in my heart, | |
| Oh, then in my sorrow away I would flee | |
| And hide from misfortune, Elora, in thee. | 20 |
| Away from the world, with its falsehood and pride, | |
| In yon lowly cot where the smooth waters glide, | |
| I ’d with Nature commune till death set me free, | |
| And rest then forever, Elora, in thee. | | | | |
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