MOUNT EGMONT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 66, 20 March 1915, Page 8

MOUNT EGMONT.

The following poem, first published nearly twenty-seven years ago, is forwarded by a contributor. It is well worthy of reproduction. Defeated monarch of the fiery zone, In solitary grandeur situate, Undaunted rearing still aloft thy crown Bedecked with snowy gems perpetuate. For Ruapehu’s love in ages past, With envious Tongariro thou did’st wage Prodigious war, while nature stood aghast, In trembling terror at thy frightful rage. By thy dread foe’s artillery o’ercome, Defeated, baffled, bowed to his decree, Thy thunderous voice eternal stricken dumb, An exile thou for all futurity. Vanquished but not -o’erthrown, thy power unbound, Thy fiery heart subdued, thy wrath laid low, Thy yawning caverns, where didst once resound Such direful thunders—all are silent now. Adowu thy scarred sides where once did,, roar The ruddy cataracts of writhen fire, Bright purling springs of limpid crystal pour Their grateful tears o’er thine extinguished pyre. No. more the solid plain which bears thy base Shall quake and shudder at thy mighty will, The lichened ridges which thy sides embrace, Thy mossy clefts and ravines now are still, — What though thy soul terrific now has flown, And Tongariro’s vengeance pacified, Thy wondrous beauty still remains thine own, Majestic mountain! Taranaki’s pride. J. W. K. Wellington, September 1888.