 | Collected poems of Henry Thoreau |  |
381
ADDED POEMS
FAIR HAVEN
When little hills like lambs did skip,
And Joshua ruled in heaven,
Unmindful rolled Musketuquid,
Nor budged an inch Fair Haven.
And Joshua ruled in heaven,
Unmindful rolled Musketuquid,
Nor budged an inch Fair Haven.
When principle is like to yield,
To selfish fear, or craven,
And fickle mortals round me fall,
I'll not forget Fair Haven.
To selfish fear, or craven,
And fickle mortals round me fall,
I'll not forget Fair Haven.
If there's a cliff in this wide world,
'S, a stepping stone to heaven,
A pleasant, craggy, short hand cut,
It sure must be Fair Haven.
'S, a stepping stone to heaven,
A pleasant, craggy, short hand cut,
It sure must be Fair Haven.
Oft have I climbed thy craggy steep,
Where ceaseless wheels the raven,
And whiled away an hour at e'en,
For love of thee, Fair Haven.
Where ceaseless wheels the raven,
And whiled away an hour at e'en,
For love of thee, Fair Haven.
If e'er my bark be tempest-tossed,
And every hope the wave in,
And this frail hulk shall spring a leak,
I'll steer for thee, Fair Haven.
And every hope the wave in,
And this frail hulk shall spring a leak,
I'll steer for thee, Fair Haven.
When cares press heavy on my soul,
And devils blue are craven,
Or e'er I lay me down to rest,
I'll think of thee, Fair Haven.
And devils blue are craven,
Or e'er I lay me down to rest,
I'll think of thee, Fair Haven.
And when I take my last long rest,
And quiet sleep my grave in,
What kindlier covering for my breast,
Than thy warm turf Fair Haven.
And quiet sleep my grave in,
What kindlier covering for my breast,
Than thy warm turf Fair Haven.
382
LIFE IS A SUMMER'S DAY
Life is a summer's day
When as it were for aye
We sport and play.
When as it were for aye
We sport and play.
Anon the night comes on,
The ploughman's work is done,
And day is gone.
The ploughman's work is done,
And day is gone.
We read in this one page
Both Youth, Manhood, and Age
That hoary Sage.
Both Youth, Manhood, and Age
That hoary Sage.
The morning is our prime,
That laughs to scorn old Time,
And knows no crime.
That laughs to scorn old Time,
And knows no crime.
The noon comes on apace,
And then with swel'tring face
We run our race.
And then with swel'tring face
We run our race.
When eve comes stealing o'er
We ponder at our door
On days of yore.
We ponder at our door
On days of yore.
The patient kine, they say,
At dawn do frisk and play,
And well they may.
At dawn do frisk and play,
And well they may.
By noon their sports abate,
For then, as bards relate,
They vegetate.
For then, as bards relate,
They vegetate.
383
When eventide hath come,
And grey flies cease their hum,
And now are dumb,
And grey flies cease their hum,
And now are dumb,
They leave the tender bud,
That's cooling to the blood,
And chew the cud.
That's cooling to the blood,
And chew the cud.
Let's make the most of morn,
Ere grey flies wind their horn,
And it is gone.
Ere grey flies wind their horn,
And it is gone.
384
I'VE HEARD MY NEIGHBOR'S PUMP AT NIGHT
I've heard my neighbor's pump at night,
Long after Lyra sunk her light,
As if it were a natural sound,
And proper utterance of the ground—
Perchance some bittern in a fen—
Or else the squeak of a meadow hen.
Long after Lyra sunk her light,
As if it were a natural sound,
And proper utterance of the ground—
Perchance some bittern in a fen—
Or else the squeak of a meadow hen.
Who sleeps by day and walks by night,
Will meet no spirit but some sprite.
Will meet no spirit but some sprite.
385
WHEN WITH PALE CHEEK AND SUNKEN EYE I SANG
When with pale cheek and sunken eye I sang
Unto the slumbering world at midnights hour,
How it no more resounded with war's clang,
And virtue was decayed in Peace's bower;
Unto the slumbering world at midnights hour,
How it no more resounded with war's clang,
And virtue was decayed in Peace's bower;
How in these days no hero was abroad,
But puny men, afraid of war's alarms,
Stood forth to fight the battles of their Lord,
Who scarce could stand beneath a hero's arms;
But puny men, afraid of war's alarms,
Stood forth to fight the battles of their Lord,
Who scarce could stand beneath a hero's arms;
A faint, reproachful, reassuring strain,
From some harp's strings touched by unskilful hands
Brought back the days of chivalry again,
And the surrounding fields made holy lands.
From some harp's strings touched by unskilful hands
Brought back the days of chivalry again,
And the surrounding fields made holy lands.
A bustling camp and an embattled host
Extending far on either hand I saw,
For I alone had slumbered at my post,
Dreaming of peace when all around was war.
Extending far on either hand I saw,
For I alone had slumbered at my post,
Dreaming of peace when all around was war.
386
I AROSE BEFORE LIGHT
I arose before light
To work with all my might,
With my arms braced for toil
Which no obstacle could foil,
For it robbed me of my rest
Like an anvil on my breast.
To work with all my might,
With my arms braced for toil
Which no obstacle could foil,
For it robbed me of my rest
Like an anvil on my breast.
But as a brittle cup
I've held the hammer up,
And no sound from my forge
Has been heard in the gorge.
I look forward into night,
And seem to get some light;
E're long the forge will ring
With its ding-dong-ding,
For the iron will be hot
And my wages will be got.
I've held the hammer up,
And no sound from my forge
Has been heard in the gorge.
I look forward into night,
And seem to get some light;
E're long the forge will ring
With its ding-dong-ding,
For the iron will be hot
And my wages will be got.
387
I WILL OBEY THE STRICTEST LAW OF LOVE
I will obey the strictest law of love
As if I dealt with cherubim above.
I will accept no half gift from my friend
By which he thinks for hate to make amend.
But every friendly thought
Will come to me unbought
My friend may do whate'er he will
And I shall love him
If he doth it from love.
But let him do whateer he will
I think that I must hate him still
If lower motives move.
As if I dealt with cherubim above.
I will accept no half gift from my friend
By which he thinks for hate to make amend.
But every friendly thought
Will come to me unbought
My friend may do whate'er he will
And I shall love him
If he doth it from love.
But let him do whateer he will
I think that I must hate him still
If lower motives move.
I love not all
I love not one alway
But that I love is one & all
And lasteth ever and aye.
I love not one alway
But that I love is one & all
And lasteth ever and aye.
I will leave him I hate
And cleave to him I love
I will forsake my earthly mate
And seek my mate above.
And cleave to him I love
I will forsake my earthly mate
And seek my mate above.
388
Though my friends are dull and cold
I will be quick and warm.
Though their love groweth old
Mine shall be new born
I will be quick and warm.
Though their love groweth old
Mine shall be new born
Though they understand me not
I shall be understood
Though by them I am forgot
Not therefore by the good.
I shall be understood
Though by them I am forgot
Not therefore by the good.
My friend can wound me
For to him I bare my breast—
But his wounds save me
From a foe's embrace
But these are honorable scars
And fit the wounded heart for Love's more glorious wars.
For to him I bare my breast—
But his wounds save me
From a foe's embrace
But these are honorable scars
And fit the wounded heart for Love's more glorious wars.
These wounds are not fatal though inflicted on the heart
For the heart's not less a vital than a mortal part.
Unlike the inferior part
The wounded heart
Is not repaired with wood
But by fresh currents from above
Which fit it for a purer love
For all that's true & beautiful & good.
For the heart's not less a vital than a mortal part.
Unlike the inferior part
The wounded heart
Is not repaired with wood
But by fresh currents from above
Which fit it for a purer love
For all that's true & beautiful & good.
389
THE CENTAUR
Alas, when will this roving head & breastBe welded to that firm & brawny beast?
The sun may set the silver moon may rise
But my unresting steed holds on his way
He is far gone ere this, then, you would say.
He is far going.
The eagle sailing high with outspread wings
cleaving the silent air, Resteth him not
An instant in his flight, the air is not his perch
No more my steed slackening his onward pace
Dismounts his rider by the tedious way
my bark neer furls its weatherbeaten sails
And rest[s] its keel upon a friendly shore—
But still it plows the shoreless seas of time—
Breasting the waves with an unsanded prow
390
WHO HEARS THE PARSON
Who hears the parson
Will not hear the bell,
But if he deafly pass on
He will hear of hell.
Will not hear the bell,
But if he deafly pass on
He will hear of hell.
I' faith the people go to church
To leave the devil in the lurch,
But since they've carpeted the pews
To squat with hymn book he doth use.
To leave the devil in the lurch,
But since they've carpeted the pews
To squat with hymn book he doth use.
391
FRIENDS
Friends—
They cannot help,
They cannot hurt,
Nor in indifference rest,
But when for a host's service girt,
They are a mutual guest.
They cannot help,
They cannot hurt,
Nor in indifference rest,
But when for a host's service girt,
They are a mutual guest.
They are a single power
Plenipotentiary,
No minister of state,
Anxious and wary
Decides their fate.
Plenipotentiary,
No minister of state,
Anxious and wary
Decides their fate.
Where interest's self is
There is no go-between,
But where another reaps,
They do but glean
In scanty heaps.
There is no go-between,
But where another reaps,
They do but glean
In scanty heaps.
They have learned well to hate,
And never grant reprieve,
Nor e'er succumb to love,
But sternly grieve,
And look above.
And never grant reprieve,
Nor e'er succumb to love,
But sternly grieve,
And look above.
392
If faults arise, my friend will send for me
As some great god,
Who will the matter try,
Holding the scales, even or odd,
Under the sky—
As some great god,
Who will the matter try,
Holding the scales, even or odd,
Under the sky—
Who will award strict justice
All the while,
Confounding mine and thine,
And share his smile,
When they 'gainst me incline.
All the while,
Confounding mine and thine,
And share his smile,
When they 'gainst me incline.
393
WHEN IN SOME COVE I LIE
When in some cove I lie,A placid lake at rest,
Scanning the distant hills,
A murmur from the west,
And gleam of thousand rills
Which gently swell my breast,
Announce the friendly thought,
And in one wave sun-lit
I'm softly brought
Seaward with it.
394
DELAY IN FRIENDSHIP
The blossoms on the tree
Swell not too fast for me.
God does not want quick work but sure
Not to be tempted by so cheap a lure.
Swell not too fast for me.
God does not want quick work but sure
Not to be tempted by so cheap a lure.
Owing to slow steps I shall be never
By my friend out run,
More than the tide can land from ocean sever,
Or earth distance the sun.
By my friend out run,
More than the tide can land from ocean sever,
Or earth distance the sun.
The friend is patient, he can stay
Some centuries yet,
Though then I may not get
So on my way
As fit to be his mate.
Some centuries yet,
Though then I may not get
So on my way
As fit to be his mate.
Wilt thou not wait for me my friend,
Or give a longer lease?
Why think I can wait for myself,
If so I please.
Or give a longer lease?
Why think I can wait for myself,
If so I please.
Now as ye take one step away
Thinking to leave me here—
The heavens will still beyond ye lay,
And though ye are far they will be near.
Thinking to leave me here—
The heavens will still beyond ye lay,
And though ye are far they will be near.
395
Ye will be pilgrims on the road
Whither my heart has single gone,
And never looks back from its abode
On ye thus left forlorn.
Whither my heart has single gone,
And never looks back from its abode
On ye thus left forlorn.
Love equals swift and slow
And high & low—
Racer and lame—
The hunter and his game.
And high & low—
Racer and lame—
The hunter and his game.
396
TO EDITH
Thou little bud of being, Edith named,With whom I've made acquaintance on this earth,
Who knowest me without impediment,
As flowers know the winds that stir their leaves,
And rid'st upon my shoulders as the sphere,
Turning on me thy sage reserved eye,
Behind whose broad & charitable gaze
Floats the still true & universal soul
With the pure azure of the general day,
Not yet a peopled & a vulgar town,
Rather a pure untarnished country ground;
For thou art whole, not yet begun to die,
While men look on me with their shrivelled rays
Streaming through some small chink of the broad sky;
Pure youthful soul, thou hast begun to be,
To cumulate thy sin & piety.
397
THE ROSA SANGUINEA
As often as a martyr dies,This opes its petals to the skies;
And Nature by this trace alone
Informs us which way he is gone.
| Collected poems of Henry Thoreau | |