Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Archibald Lampman 1861–99

The Loons

Lampman

ONCE ye were happy, once by many a shore,

Wherever Glooscap’s gentle feet might stray,

Lulled by his presence like a dream, ye lay

Floating at rest; but that was long of yore.

He was too good for earthly men; he bore

Their bitter deeds for many a patient day,

And then at last he took his unseen way.

He was your friend, and ye might rest no more:

And now, though many hundred altering years

Have passed, among the desolate northern meres

Still must ye search and wander querulously,

Crying for Glooscap, still bemoan the light

With weird entreaties, and in agony

With awful laughter pierce the lonely night.