 | A Selection from Unpublished Poems |  |
19
LIFE.
A-field, from day to day,
We see quick shapes of life at ev'ry turn,
Each seeking, in its way,
The forms of good for which its kind may yearn.
But oh! the ways
Of might with helplessness, where life is strife,
And oh! the woes
Of smaller, slain to yield the stronger life.
We see quick shapes of life at ev'ry turn,
Each seeking, in its way,
The forms of good for which its kind may yearn.
But oh! the ways
Of might with helplessness, where life is strife,
And oh! the woes
Of smaller, slain to yield the stronger life.
We see the hare's last springs
Of fear-strain'd limbs, before the harrier's feet;
We see the sparrow's wings
Flap out, below the hawk, their dying beat.
Where pools may lie
The swallow sweeps away the dancing fly;
In streamlets low,
To yield the pike more life, the perch must die.
Of fear-strain'd limbs, before the harrier's feet;
We see the sparrow's wings
Flap out, below the hawk, their dying beat.
Where pools may lie
The swallow sweeps away the dancing fly;
In streamlets low,
To yield the pike more life, the perch must die.
But then, again, we see
The faithful bird o'erwatch his sitting hen,
And watch-rooks on the tree
To warn the grounded flock of coming men.
In loving mood
Stand horses, neck o'er neck, within the cool;
And down the mead
The cows, all friendly, seek the drinking pool.
The faithful bird o'erwatch his sitting hen,
And watch-rooks on the tree
To warn the grounded flock of coming men.
In loving mood
Stand horses, neck o'er neck, within the cool;
And down the mead
The cows, all friendly, seek the drinking pool.
And what, then, must we deem
That our best good is built on others' ill?
Or may it rather seem
That we are blest in lovingness of will?
Howe'er it be,
All we are bidden to be kind to all,
As days come by,
And still enhance the good of great and small.
That our best good is built on others' ill?
Or may it rather seem
That we are blest in lovingness of will?
20
All we are bidden to be kind to all,
As days come by,
And still enhance the good of great and small.
| A Selection from Unpublished Poems | |