Haddam Neck Hills

                                  (Dedicated to Henry M. Selden)

O, Haddam Neck hills! thy grandeur I see,

Tho’ fortune has placed me afar off from thee;

Through memory’s vision yet clear as of old,

Thy stretch of rich verdure I daily behold.

O beauty clad hills! dost thou ever see me?

I never, no never, shall lose sight of thee.

Blest Haddam Neck hills, thy eastern slopes lie

Where fairest of waters dance merrily by;

While down on the west side Connecticut sweeps,

And forms a fair picture from high on thy steeps.

O beauty clad hills! thou singest to me, –

I never shall weary in singing of thee.

O Haddam Neck hills! I liken thee to

A cluster of jewels of far shining hue;

A spread of rich treasure and beauties untold,

Arising from waters of pure molten gold.

O beauty clad hills! Art thou weary of me?

I never shall weary in rhyming of thee.

Dear Haddam Neck hills, when bowed down with years,

Thy poet would turn to those walks he reveres;

And bask in thy sunshine and croon unto thee

An old strain of pathos; aye, feebly but free.

O hills of my youth! thou art to mine eyes

The nearest approach to an earth paradise.

Nov. 2, ‘91

Pub. in

Ct. Valley Ad.

Henry M. Selden authored ‘History of Haddam Neck’ – not sure of date or other publication information.

Haddam Neck is the eastern section of the town of Haddam, Ct., and unlike the rest of that town, lies on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River, bordered on the southeast side by the Salmon River (inspiration for ‘Lizzard Crick’) and the Moodus section of East Haddam.

Looking south, the Connecticut River on the right, Salmon River on the left

http://www.connyankee.com/images/Overall_site_large.jpg

Haddam Neck to the left in the background