“Oh Koronis, fair Koronis”
Called a voice from out the North-land,
Hush thy laughter for a moment,
Come thy whimp’ring and coquetting,
List! for I would tell thee something
And Koronis, dimpling, smiling.
Heard the glad voice of her lover
Blushed and veiled her brow in mist-wreaths.
And her bosom, rising, falling
With the tumult of her gladness
Told her answer ere she murmured,
“I am listening Min-ne-so-ta.”
There was joy thro’ all the North-land,
The black loon his trumpet sounded;
A grand orchestra of blackbirds
Wound their horns in swamp and meadow
Lilies rung their bells of azure
And the rose and Johnny-jump-up,
Fern and regal dandelion,
Donned their robes of pink and purple,
Green and gold to grace the wedding
And the sun looked down in blessing.
And the South-wind coming north-ward.
Whispered its soft benediction.
Then the stately Min-ne-so-ta
To his broad breast clasped Koronis,
Loveliest of northern waters.
Three fair children call her ‘mother’
And they lie upon her bosom
Cedar crowned and vine-embowered,
Safely cradled there forever.
But her crown of joy and beauty
Is ‘Corona’ first and fairest.
Lo, she sits upon the waters
Queen by royal right of beauty
Still the billows kiss her sandals,
And the bright clouds bend above her,
And each year the elms and cedars
Weave her mantle green and jeweled;
And her emerald crown still glistens
With the dew gems of the morning.
And she holds all hearts enchanted
With the magic spell of beauty.
This the legend that was told me
By strange voices low and weird
That were wafted from the island,
When the harvest moon was shining.
I was swinging in my hammock
When these voices came and told me
Of the wedding of Koronis
And the stately Min-ne-so-ta.
One thing appears to have been constant in the history of Koronis: the love of its residents. As we go our separate ways for the winter, we will keep the vision of our “Queen by royal right of beauty” as a part of our memory of a view from the lake.