Poems, partly of rural life, (in national English.) By William Barnes |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
THE WOODLAND HOME. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
 | Poems, partly of rural life, (in national English.) |  |
35
THE WOODLAND HOME.
My woodland home, where hillocks swell
With flow'ry sides, above the dell,
And sedge's hanging ribbons gleam
By meadow withies in the stream;
And elms, with ground-beglooming shades,
Stand high upon the sloping glades.
When toilsome day at evening fades,
And trials agitate my breast,
By fancy brought,
I come in thought
To thee my home, my spirit's rest.
With flow'ry sides, above the dell,
And sedge's hanging ribbons gleam
By meadow withies in the stream;
And elms, with ground-beglooming shades,
Stand high upon the sloping glades.
When toilsome day at evening fades,
And trials agitate my breast,
By fancy brought,
I come in thought
To thee my home, my spirit's rest.
I left thy woody fields that lay
So fair below my boyhood's play,
To toil in busy life that fills
The world with strife of wayward wills;
Where mortals in their little day
Of pride disown their brother clay.
But when my soul can steal away
From such turmoil, with greater zest
By fancy brought
I come in thought
To thee my home, my spirit's rest.
So fair below my boyhood's play,
To toil in busy life that fills
The world with strife of wayward wills;
Where mortals in their little day
Of pride disown their brother clay.
But when my soul can steal away
From such turmoil, with greater zest
By fancy brought
I come in thought
To thee my home, my spirit's rest.
36
For I behold thee fresh and fair
In summer light, and summer air,
As when I rambled, pulling low
The hazel bough that, when let go,
Flew back, with high-toss'd head, upright,
To rock again in airy light,
Where brown-stemm'd elms and ashes white
Rose tall upon the flow'ry breast
Of some green mound,
With timber crown'd,
My woodland home, my spirit's rest.
In summer light, and summer air,
As when I rambled, pulling low
The hazel bough that, when let go,
Flew back, with high-toss'd head, upright,
To rock again in airy light,
Where brown-stemm'd elms and ashes white
Rose tall upon the flow'ry breast
Of some green mound,
With timber crown'd,
My woodland home, my spirit's rest.
And there my fancy will not find
The loveless heart or selfish mind,
Nor scowling hatred mutt'ring aught
To break my heart-intrancing thought;
But manly souls above deceit,
And lively girls with smiles to greet
The bright'ning eyes they love to meet.
The fairest in their looks, and best
In heart: I found,
On thy lov'd ground,
My woodland home, my spirit's rest.
The loveless heart or selfish mind,
Nor scowling hatred mutt'ring aught
To break my heart-intrancing thought;
But manly souls above deceit,
And lively girls with smiles to greet
The bright'ning eyes they love to meet.
The fairest in their looks, and best
In heart: I found,
On thy lov'd ground,
My woodland home, my spirit's rest.
| Poems, partly of rural life, (in national English.) | |