Written from a distance, the speaker talks to the Sewanee hills in Tennessee as if they are old friends still waiting for him under the stars and moonlight. He is away from them, but in memory he can feel their shapes, their mystery, and the way shadows move across their peaks. The mood is quiet, dreamy, and a little sad, full of longing for vanished things. Yet the poem also brings comfort: the hills’ patient presence seems to reach across the distance and make whatever burden the speaker carries feel lighter. For a new reader, it reads like a tender letter to a place that holds both memory and peace.
The Hills of Sewanee — Summary
Sewanee Hills of dear delight, Prompting my dreams that used to be, I know you are waiting me still tonight By the Unika Range of Tennessee.
The blinking stars in endless space, The broad moonlight and silvery gleams, Tonight caress your wind-swept face, And fold you in a thousand dreams.
Your far outlines, less seen than felt, Which wind with hill propensities. In moonlight dreams I see you melt Away in vague immensities.
And, far away, I still can feel Your mystery that ever speaks Of vanished things, as shadows steal Across your breast and rugged peaks.
O, dear blue hills, that lie apart, And wait so patiently down there. Your peace takes hold upon my heart And makes its burden less to bear.