 | Between Doubting and Daring |  |
22
One for Sorrow
(A Magpie Scarecrow)
One for sorrow is hanged up on a pole
To fright away keen beaks from young corn;
The crows, his dusky kin, no funeral dole
Made o'er his doom so forlorn;
Yet hoarse and harsh their din
Grates from yon mirk cloud wheeling
Round leafy towers, concealing,
Close-boughed, the careful broods within.
To fright away keen beaks from young corn;
The crows, his dusky kin, no funeral dole
Made o'er his doom so forlorn;
Yet hoarse and harsh their din
Grates from yon mirk cloud wheeling
Round leafy towers, concealing,
Close-boughed, the careful broods within.
One for sorrow sees not where blossom-drift
Muffles the hedgerow thorn,
Sheer foam and snow, till loftiest sprays uplift
Be softlier swathed about than e'er with fleece,
From flocks white-glimmering shorn,
Was suppliant's wool-lapt wand,
Borne forth at need to some God-friend in Greece;
Hears not, fresh meads beyond,
The voice a-wing, that lighting holds its peace,
Cry still, dew-clear, and call,
As from an elfin clime,
With gleeful bells a-chime—
One for sorrow is blind, is deaf to all.
Muffles the hedgerow thorn,
Sheer foam and snow, till loftiest sprays uplift
Be softlier swathed about than e'er with fleece,
From flocks white-glimmering shorn,
Was suppliant's wool-lapt wand,
Borne forth at need to some God-friend in Greece;
Hears not, fresh meads beyond,
The voice a-wing, that lighting holds its peace,
Cry still, dew-clear, and call,
As from an elfin clime,
With gleeful bells a-chime—
One for sorrow is blind, is deaf to all.
23
Two for mirth they sit perched up in a tree,
Whose airy branches shade the fledged bole;
Long quills droop satin-sleek, eyes glittering glee
Gloat o'er the treasure they stole,
Pink shred with tinsel streak;
For wide earth, theirs to rifle
Of many a precious trifle,
Permits their peering hop oblique.
Whose airy branches shade the fledged bole;
Long quills droop satin-sleek, eyes glittering glee
Gloat o'er the treasure they stole,
Pink shred with tinsel streak;
For wide earth, theirs to rifle
Of many a precious trifle,
Permits their peering hop oblique.
Two for mirth, all in sable sapphire dight,
Pearly of vest, a goal
Of gladness in this low sun's westering light
Have gained fast by their garnished robbers' nest,
Their thievery dear and droll;
And when they weary of ease,
Out swoops their lucky flight on venturous quest.
Ranging as fancies please
Through fields afar, anigh with jocund zest,
Beneath blue mid-May weather,
From speedwell's gem sward-set
To fir's tall minaret,
Two for mirth taste the year's gay prime together.
Pearly of vest, a goal
Of gladness in this low sun's westering light
Have gained fast by their garnished robbers' nest,
Their thievery dear and droll;
And when they weary of ease,
Out swoops their lucky flight on venturous quest.
Ranging as fancies please
Through fields afar, anigh with jocund zest,
Beneath blue mid-May weather,
From speedwell's gem sward-set
To fir's tall minaret,
Two for mirth taste the year's gay prime together.
| Between Doubting and Daring | |