Col. H. Winchester, a well-known, prolific and published poet from Lower Lake, composed this poem in the late 1800s. He was a distant relative of mine and this poem was one of hundreds in his scrap book of poetry.
Clear Lake
Oh! beautiful Lake, thou art lovely and fair,
Clear are thy waters, and soft is the air,
That floats o”er thy bosom with health on its wing-
Oh! beautiful Lake of thee would I sing.
Around thy still waters the mountains are high-
The home of the eagle, with his sun-piercing eye;
Grim land-marks of time, ye stand as ye stood
While Rome rose and fell mid”st carnage and blood.
Oh! beautiful Lake, when the sun sinks to rest
The bright stars of heaven look bright on thy breast,
The blue sky above thee, is mirrored below
While the peaks of thy mountains are covered with snow.
Talk not to me of the land of the Swiss,
She”s no Lake more lovely, more charming than this,
No air half as pure-no flowers half as sweet
As bloom round the waters in this mountain retreat.
Oh! beautiful Lake, when my years have all fled,
And the heart that now flutters is cold with the dead,
On thy banks let me rest where sweet waters swell
With flower laden zephyrs, lovely lake fare thee well.
I question all of you now: has she fared well?
Have we done all we can to keep her healthy?
Restoration and protection of our beautiful lake is imperative.
Vote YES on Measure S
Katherine Yoder, Nice
