The Restless Mind

The Restless Mind
By William Ellery Channing


By the bleak wild hill,

Or the deep lake still

In the silent grain

On the upland plain,
I would that the unsparing Storm might rage, 

And blot with gloom the fair day's sunny page.
The lightning's gleam

Should gentle seem,

The thunder's blow

Both soft and low,

For now the world hath fill of summer weather,

Ye shining days thy throng you thus together.
I am possesst

With strange Unrest,

My feelings jar.

My heart is war,
A spirit dances in my dreams to-day.
I am too cold, for its strange, sunny play.
Then hurry down

With angry frown,

Thou sudden storm

come fierce and warm,
And splinter trees and whistle o'er the moor,

For in thy Bravery I can life endure.