Ecclesiastical Sonnets: V. Uncertainty

Darkness surrounds us; seeking, we are lost
On Snowdon’s wilds, amid Brigantian coves,
Or where the solitary Shepherd roves
Along the Plain of Sarum, by the Ghost
Of silently departed ages crossed;
And where the boatman of the Western Isles
Slackens his course—to mark those holy piles
Which yet survive on bleak Iona’s coast.
Nor these, nor monuments of eldest name,
Nor Taliesin’s unforgotten lays,
Nor Characters of Greek or Roman fame,
To an unquestionable Source have led;
Enough—if eyes that sought the fountain-head,
In vain, upon the growing Rill may gaze.