# The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier/The Seeking of the Waterfall

THE SEEKING OF THE WATERFALL
They left their home of summer ease Beneath the lowland’s sheltering trees, To seek, by ways unknown to all, The promise of the waterfall.
Some vague, faint rumor to the vale Had crept—perchance a hunter’s tale— Of its wild mirth of waters lost On the dark woods through which it tossed.
Somewhere it laughed and sang; somewhere Whirled in mad dance its misty hair; But who had raised its veil, or seen The rainbow skirts of that Undine?
They sought it where the mountain brook Its swift way to the valley took;
Along the rugged slope they clomb, Their guide a thread of sound and foam.
Height after height they slowly won; The fiery javelins of the sun Smote the bare ledge; the tangled shade With rock and vine their steps delayed.
But, through leaf-openings, now and then They saw the cheerful homes of men, And the great mountains with their wall Of misty purple girdling all.
The leaves through which the glad winds blew Shared the wild dance the waters knew; And where the shadows deepest fell The wood-thrush rang his silver bell.
Fringing the stream, at every turn Swung low the waving fronds of fern From stony cleft and mossy sod Pale asters sprang, and golden-rod.
And still the water sang the sweet, Glad song that stirred its gliding feet, And found in rock and root the keys Of its beguiling melodies.
Beyond, above, its signals flew Of tossing foam the birch-trees through; Now seen, now lost, but baffling still The weary seekers’ slackening will.
Each called to each: “Lo here! Lo there! Its white scarf flutters in the air!” They climbed anew; the vision fled, To beckon higher overhead.
So toiled they up the mountain-slope With faint and ever fainter hope; With faint and fainter voice the brook Still bade them listen, pause, and look.
Meanwhile below the day was done; Above the tall peaks saw the sun Sink, beam-shorn, to its misty set Behind the hills of violet.
“Here ends our quest!” the seekers cried, “The brook and rumor both have lied! The phantom of a waterfall Has led us at its beck and call.”
But one, with years grown wiser, said: “So, always baffled, not misled, We follow where before us runs The vision of the shining ones.
“Not where they seem their signals fly, Their voices while we listen die; We cannot keep, however fleet, The quick time of their wingëd feet.
“From youth to age unresting stray These kindly mockers in our way; Yet lead they not, the baffling elves, To something better than themselves?
“Here, though unreached the goal we sought, Its own reward our toil has brought: The winding water’s sounding rush, The long note of the hermit thrush,
“The turquoise lakes, the glimpse of pond And river track, and, vast, beyond Broad meadows belted round with pines, The grand uplift of mountain lines!
“What matter though we seek with pain The garden of the gods in vain, If lured thereby we climb to greet Some wayside blossom Eden-sweet?
“To seek is better than to gain, The fond hope dies as we attain; Life’s fairest things are those which seem, The best is that of which we dream.
“Then let us trust our waterfall Still flashes down its rocky wall, With rainbow crescent curved across Its sunlit spray from moss to moss.
“And we, forgetful of our pain, In thought shall seek it oft again; Shall see this aster-blossomed sod, This sunshine of the golden-rod,
“And haply gain, through parting boughs, Grand glimpses of great mountain brows Cloud-turbaned, and the sharp steel sheen Of lakes deep set in valleys green.
“So failure wins; the consequence Of loss becomes its recompense; And evermore the end shall tell The unreached ideal guided well.
“Our sweet illusions only die Fulfilling love’s sure prophecy; And every wish for better things An undreamed beauty nearer brings.
“For fate is servitor of love; Desire and hope and longing prove The secret of immortal youth, And Nature cheats us into truth.
“O kind allurers, wisely sent, Beguiling with benign intent, Still move us, through divine unrest, To seek the loveliest and the best!
“Go with us when our souls go free, And, in the clear, white light to be, Add unto Heaven’s beatitude The old delight of seeking good!”