#MIDDLEBURY
Mutability
William Wordsworth
From low to high doth dissolution climb,
And sink from high to low, along a scale
Of awful notes, whose concord shall not fail;
A musical but melancholy chime,
Which they can hear who meddle not with crime,
Nor avarice, nor over-anxious care.
Truth fails not; but her outward forms that bear
The longest date do melt like frosty rime,
That in the morning whitened hill and plain
And is no more; drop like the tower sublime
Of yesterday, which royally did wear
His crown of weeds, but could not even sustain
Some casual shout that broke the silent air,
Or the unimaginable touch of Time.
About this poem
“Mutability” was published in “Ecclesiastical Sketches” (Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1822).
About William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumbria, England. His collections include “An Evening Walk” (Joseph Johnson, 1793) and “Descriptive Sketches” (Joseph Johnson, 1793). He died on April 23, 1850.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
