 | Lyrics (1895) |  |
26
THE WINTER SLEEP
When the azure distance
In the haze is lost,
When with strong insistence
Broods the quiet frost,
Stills the summer's pleasure,
Checks its reckless grace,
Then tall trees find leisure
And a breathing-space;
In the haze is lost,
When with strong insistence
Broods the quiet frost,
Stills the summer's pleasure,
Checks its reckless grace,
Then tall trees find leisure
And a breathing-space;
When the dead leaves slacken
Their unwilling hold,
And the elm-boles blacken
Under powdery gold;
When the freshet roaring
Fuller swirls and swells,
Then the earth is storing
Her diminished wells.
Their unwilling hold,
And the elm-boles blacken
Under powdery gold;
When the freshet roaring
Fuller swirls and swells,
Then the earth is storing
Her diminished wells.
27
Birds among the thickets
Hold their breath for fear;
And at home the crickets
Take their winter-cheer.
As the days recapture
Their impetuous breath,
Life is clasped in rapture
To the arms of death.
Hold their breath for fear;
And at home the crickets
Take their winter-cheer.
As the days recapture
Their impetuous breath,
Life is clasped in rapture
To the arms of death.
And shalt thou in sadness
Endless vigil keep?
Close thine eyes in gladness;
'Tis thy turn to sleep.
When the lights grow longer
Over stream and plain,
Thou shalt waken stronger
Into life again.
Endless vigil keep?
Close thine eyes in gladness;
'Tis thy turn to sleep.
When the lights grow longer
Over stream and plain,
Thou shalt waken stronger
Into life again.
| Lyrics (1895) | |