The Comrades Poems Old & New: By William Canton |
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He Changeth the Times and the Seasons |
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The Comrades | ||
51
He Changeth the Times and the Seasons
If life were but a year!
If only once 'twere given to us to see
Grass newly sprung, and daffodils,
The baby lambs, the blossom on the tree;
And if but once 'twere ours to hear
The cuckoo in the fresh leaf-muffled hills—
If only once 'twere given to us to see
Grass newly sprung, and daffodils,
The baby lambs, the blossom on the tree;
And if but once 'twere ours to hear
The cuckoo in the fresh leaf-muffled hills—
If life were but a year!
And if no more than once we could behold
Bleached sheaves, and apples flushed with light,
And leagues of wood aflame with red and gold;
If only once, once only, we could hear
The swallows trooping for their southern flight—
And if no more than once we could behold
Bleached sheaves, and apples flushed with light,
And leagues of wood aflame with red and gold;
If only once, once only, we could hear
The swallows trooping for their southern flight—
52
If life were but a year!
And no succession of the seasons brought,
As season after season brings,
The sweet recurrence of familiar thought,
The changes habit makes so dear,
The associations of accustomed things—
And no succession of the seasons brought,
As season after season brings,
The sweet recurrence of familiar thought,
The changes habit makes so dear,
The associations of accustomed things—
I strive, in soul and sense,
To realise the loss—the dolorous dearth
Of sounds which reach the spirit's ear,
Of many a prompting of the gracious earth,
Of many a blessèd influence,
Vision, and touch—if life were but a year.
To realise the loss—the dolorous dearth
Of sounds which reach the spirit's ear,
Of many a prompting of the gracious earth,
Of many a blessèd influence,
Vision, and touch—if life were but a year.
You great-winged angels four,
Bring with the lamb and snowdrop youth renewed,
Gladness and hope; and, when the green
Takes colour, peace and toil's contented mood.
Spin, Earth, sun-circling evermore,
And keep life sweet with God's divine routine.
Bring with the lamb and snowdrop youth renewed,
Gladness and hope; and, when the green
Takes colour, peace and toil's contented mood.
Spin, Earth, sun-circling evermore,
And keep life sweet with God's divine routine.
The Comrades | ||