Whither, midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
    Thy solitary way?

    Vainly the fowler’s eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
    Thy figure floats along.

    Seek’st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
    On the chafed ocean-side?

    All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere,
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
    Though the dark night is near.

    And soon that toil shall end ;
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows ; reeds shall bend,
    Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest.

    Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form ; yet, on my heart
Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given,
    And shall not soon depart.

    He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
    Will lead my steps aright.

William Cullen Bryant

Biography

William Cullen Bryant was born in Cummington MA on November 3, 1792. He was the son of Dr Peter Bryant who served in both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives. William Cullen Bryant attended Williams College for two years before leaving to persue law studies under Judge Howe of Worthington and Mr. William Baylies of Bridgewater. Bryant was first published at the age of 12 in the Hampshire Gazette. His first major work entitled “Thanatopsis” was written in his 18th year.