Classic Poem

The mountain shepherd-boy am I,
Yon castles all beneath me lie;
Here first the rising sun doth shine,
His last departing rays are mine;
A mountain-child am I!

Here springs the torrent's parent-rill,
From this, its source, I drink my fill;
It leaps adown its craggy way,
My hands receive its dripping spray;
A mountain-child am I!

This mountain-peak is all mine own,
The tempests gather round its cone;
From North and South they rave along,
Yet o'er them all rings out my song;
A mountain-child am I!

Lightning and thunder 'neath me rave,
Around me spreads the blue concave;
I know them well, and loudly cry,
" My father's hut in peace pass by! "
A mountain-child am I!

And when th' alarum thrills the air,
And beacons on the mountains flare,
Then down I wend to join th' array,
And swing my sword and sing my lay:
A mountain-child am I!