 | Poems: Second Series |  |
24
ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST.
I sat by the scarlet poppies near the sands of the sunken shore:
The hedges rustled above me as the warm wind wandered o'er:
I heard it speak to the cornfields—I heard it speak to the sea:—
Had it no message, I wondered—nothing to whisper to me?
The hedges rustled above me as the warm wind wandered o'er:
I heard it speak to the cornfields—I heard it speak to the sea:—
Had it no message, I wondered—nothing to whisper to me?
It passed from the brimming river to the waves that died at my feet,
O'er the land of bearded barley, deep meadow and yellow wheat:
Blue was the Northern Ocean, blue was the summer sky,
And all things laughed for gladness as the wind went fluttering by.
O'er the land of bearded barley, deep meadow and yellow wheat:
Blue was the Northern Ocean, blue was the summer sky,
And all things laughed for gladness as the wind went fluttering by.
I marked by the rushing ripples its path through the golden grain:
Gay wavelets danced before it over the sunlit main:
What were the words it whispered as it kissed the ocean spray?
Tell me, O bending corn-fields, what did the soft wind say?
Gay wavelets danced before it over the sunlit main:
25
Tell me, O bending corn-fields, what did the soft wind say?
The wheat and the poppies answered: It whispered of sunny mirth,
Of the wealth of the coming harvest, of the gifts of the goodly earth:
Its breath was the blended odour of fruit, and flower, and corn,—
Pure as the noon-day Heaven, fresh as the early morn.
Of the wealth of the coming harvest, of the gifts of the goodly earth:
Its breath was the blended odour of fruit, and flower, and corn,—
Pure as the noon-day Heaven, fresh as the early morn.
But the great blue sea made answer: It came from the laughing land;—
It breathed of joy as it hurried over the glistening sand:
But its gladness grew to yearning as it sank on my boundless breast,
And it wandered away for ever and could not find its nest.
It breathed of joy as it hurried over the glistening sand:
But its gladness grew to yearning as it sank on my boundless breast,
And it wandered away for ever and could not find its nest.
It could not find its haven: it drooped and it yearned to die:
The voice of its noon-day laughter was hushed in a weary sigh:
It sighed, “O joy and sunshine, I fathomed your deepest deep,
And depths were still beneath it”—it sighed—and it fell asleep.
The voice of its noon-day laughter was hushed in a weary sigh:
26
And depths were still beneath it”—it sighed—and it fell asleep.
| Poems: Second Series | |