Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Americas: Vol. XXX. 1876–79.
Elora
By Alexander McLachlan (1820–1896)O
Still dwell in my heart like a beautiful dream;
And everything peaceful and gentle I see
Brings back to my bosom some image of thee.
I ’ve roamed this Dominion allured by the beam
Of wild woodland beauty by valley and stream;
From lone Manitoulin all down to the sea;
But found not a spot, sweet Elora, like thee.
And down the St. Lawrence wild beauties abound;
Quebec, towering proudly, looks down on the sea,
And lone Gananoque, there ’s beauty in thee;
And Barrie, the lady that sits by the lake,
Oh, would I could sing a sweet song for her sake!
But here in thy beauty a-listening the fall,
O lovely Elora! thou ’rt queen of them all.
Or love fly and leave a great void in my heart,
Oh, then in my sorrow away I would flee
And hide from misfortune, Elora, in thee.
Away from the world, with its falsehood and pride,
In yon lowly cot where the smooth waters glide,
I ’d with Nature commune till death set me free,
And rest then forever, Elora, in thee.