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 | The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") |  |
RUINS.
In a deep woodland,
Leaf and bough hidden,
By a dark mystery
Ever bestridden,
Crumbled and blackened,
Moss-grown and hoary,
Moulder some ruins
Known not in story.
Leaf and bough hidden,
By a dark mystery
Ever bestridden,
Crumbled and blackened,
Moss-grown and hoary,
Moulder some ruins
Known not in story.
Chimneys long smokeless;
Eaves whence the sparrows
Sally at night-fall,
Night-flies to harass;
Half-rotted lintels;
Roof tumbled all in;
Vaults choked with rubbish;
Door-steps down-fallen.
Eaves whence the sparrows
Sally at night-fall,
Night-flies to harass;
107
Roof tumbled all in;
Vaults choked with rubbish;
Door-steps down-fallen.
Once in that house, from
Ground-sill to rafter,
Pleasantly sounded
Music and laughter;
There in the hall-way,
Host the guest meeting,
Gave him warm welcome,
Heartiest greeting.
Ground-sill to rafter,
Pleasantly sounded
Music and laughter;
There in the hall-way,
Host the guest meeting,
Gave him warm welcome,
Heartiest greeting.
All through that dwelling
Luxury splendid—
Twenty young pages
Ladies attended;
Twenty tall lackeys
Served at the table;
Twenty blood-horses
Champed in the stable.
Luxury splendid—
Twenty young pages
Ladies attended;
Twenty tall lackeys
Served at the table;
Twenty blood-horses
Champed in the stable.
In the park, while the
Master remained here,
Tossed their brown antlers
Fifty fleet reindeer;
There youths and damsels
Under leaf arches,
Strolled through the shadows
Thrown by the larches.
Master remained here,
Tossed their brown antlers
Fifty fleet reindeer;
There youths and damsels
Under leaf arches,
Strolled through the shadows
Thrown by the larches.
Then in the garden,
Pinks and stock-gillies
Looked up at roses,
Lilacs and lilies;
Quaintly-cut box-trees
Stood by the beeches;
Ripened there cheeries,
Gages and peaches.
Pinks and stock-gillies
Looked up at roses,
Lilacs and lilies;
108
Stood by the beeches;
Ripened there cheeries,
Gages and peaches.
Song-birds in cages,
Chirping and twittering,
There where the fountain
Cast a spray glittering;
Fish in the basin,
Bright, golden-sided,
Hither and thither
Gracefully glided.
Chirping and twittering,
There where the fountain
Cast a spray glittering;
Fish in the basin,
Bright, golden-sided,
Hither and thither
Gracefully glided.
Now all is silence,
All desolation;
Tenantless what was
Once habitation;
Guests all departed,
None now come hither;
Gone is the master—
No one knows whither.
All desolation;
Tenantless what was
Once habitation;
Guests all departed,
None now come hither;
Gone is the master—
No one knows whither.
Now the park grasses,
Copsewood is shading;
Now the trim garden
Briars invading;
Fruit-trees untended,
Box out of order,
Grass in each pathway,
Weeds in each border.
Copsewood is shading;
Now the trim garden
Briars invading;
Fruit-trees untended,
Box out of order,
Grass in each pathway,
Weeds in each border.
Warblers no longer
Sing there in cages—
There the grey howlet
War with birds wages;
Choked up the fountain
Where it was flowing
Nettles and groundsel
Rankly are growing.
Sing there in cages—
There the grey howlet
War with birds wages;
109
Where it was flowing
Nettles and groundsel
Rankly are growing.
One thing alone there,
Ever remaining,
Mocks winter's snow-drifts,
Mocks summer's raining—
Token of terror,
Drops from a source ill,
Twenty red blood-stains
On the grey door-sill.
Ever remaining,
Mocks winter's snow-drifts,
Mocks summer's raining—
Token of terror,
Drops from a source ill,
Twenty red blood-stains
On the grey door-sill.
In the deep midnight
So the boors tell us—
Comes a fair lady
With a lord jealous;
Words and a knife-stroke,
Curses and laughter—
Vanish the phantoms—
Silence comes after.
So the boors tell us—
Comes a fair lady
With a lord jealous;
Words and a knife-stroke,
Curses and laughter—
Vanish the phantoms—
Silence comes after.
| The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") | |