Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79. | | | | Introductory to India | | The Banian-Tree | | Robert Southey (1774–1843) |
| | (From The Curse of Kehama)
’T WAS a fair scene wherein they stood, | |
| A green and sunny glade amid the wood, | |
| And in the midst an aged Banian grew. | |
| It was a goodly sight to see | |
| That venerable tree, | 5 |
| For o’er the lawn, irregularly spread, | |
| Fifty straight columns propt its lofty head | |
| And many a long depending shoot, | |
| Seeking to strike its root, | |
| Straight like a plummet, grew towards the ground. | 10 |
| Some on the lower boughs which crost their way, | |
| Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round, | |
| With many a ring and wild contortion wound; | |
| Some to the passing wind at times, with sway | |
| Of gentle motion swung; | 15 |
| Others of younger growth, unmoved, were hung | |
| Like stone-drops from the cavern’s fretted height; | |
| Beneath was smooth and fair to sight, | |
| Nor weeds nor briars deformed the natural floor, | |
| And through the leafy cope which bowered it o’er | 20 |
| Came gleams of checkered light. | |
| So like a temple did it seem, that there | |
| A pious heart’s first impulse would be prayer. | | | | |
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