Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867). I. "Storm had been on the hills." Hunt and Lee, comps. 1867. The Book of the Sonnet

Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867.

I. “Storm had been on the hills”

By Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806–1867)


STORM had been on the hills: the day had worn
As if a sleep upon the hours had crept;
And the dark clouds that gathered at the morn
In dull, impenetrable masses slept,
And the wet leaves hung droopingly, and all	5
Was like the mournful aspect of a pall.
Suddenly, on the horizon’s edge, a blue
And delicate line, as of a pencil, lay,
And, as it wider and intenser grew,
The darkness removed silently away;	10
And, with the splendor of a god, broke through
The perfect glory of departing day:
So, when his stormy pilgrimage is o’er,
Will light upon the dying Christian pour.