Classic Poem

I've followed till the Sun was down,
As low as to the very brink;
And still the pathway kept along,
Around the world, I think.

I've tried to find it, everywhere
A bell would clink, and clink, and call;
But someway I can never find
That Farthest One of all.

I've been in all the tallest weeds, —
And thistles (with the loudest bees);
And once, across the stepping-stones
And through the cedar-trees.

And now you hear it hushing up,
And then you hear it clink and clink;
And if you found it, it would lead
Around the world, I think!

It sounds so small, and gold, and far —
Far-off, beyond the lily-pool; —
And so, as if there must be there
— Oh, something Wonderful!