 | Poems (1901) |  |
1
COUNTRY AIRS
3
THE TREE-LOVER
Sweet in the sweet May weather
Trees go airy and bright;
Winged with the gold-green feather,
Veiled in the deep-sea light.
Trees go airy and bright;
Winged with the gold-green feather,
Veiled in the deep-sea light.
Clad in the emerald silk,
All a-flutter, a-glitter;
Blossoms white as the milk,
Never were roses sweeter.
All a-flutter, a-glitter;
Blossoms white as the milk,
Never were roses sweeter.
Leafy shadows, all dancing,
Lovely in shine and shower,
Ever twinkling and glancing,
Birds have built them a bower.
Lovely in shine and shower,
Ever twinkling and glancing,
Birds have built them a bower.
Lord of the leaf and tree,
When 'tis time for my going,
Leafing time let it be,
Neither snowing nor blowing!
When 'tis time for my going,
Leafing time let it be,
Neither snowing nor blowing!
After that journey taken
Let me open my eyes
To woods by a May-wind shaken,
Full of the birds' replies!
Let me open my eyes
4
Full of the birds' replies!
Paradise woods in Spring,
Scarcely than Earth's were sweeter;
Every leaf's on the wing,
All a-flutter, a-glitter.
Scarcely than Earth's were sweeter;
Every leaf's on the wing,
All a-flutter, a-glitter.
Paradise woods in commotion,
Tossed in a heavenly May;
After the bitter ocean,
Dear and homelike were they.
Tossed in a heavenly May;
After the bitter ocean,
Dear and homelike were they.
Lord of the world to be,
Build me no jasper palace,
But the young leaf on the tree,
And the young bloom on the trellis!
Build me no jasper palace,
But the young leaf on the tree,
And the young bloom on the trellis!
5
THE VIOLET FARM
If I might choose my simple lot
Far from the town and quite forgot,
All in a sheltered nook and warm,
'Tis I would have a violet farm.
Far from the town and quite forgot,
All in a sheltered nook and warm,
'Tis I would have a violet farm.
No daffodils should me entice,
Nor hyacinths with their breath of spice,
The tulip with her painted hood
For me should wither where she stood.
Nor hyacinths with their breath of spice,
The tulip with her painted hood
For me should wither where she stood.
Instead of sheep upon the sward,
The modest violet I would herd.
Instead of golden heads arow,
Would see my violet harvest blow.
The modest violet I would herd.
Instead of golden heads arow,
Would see my violet harvest blow.
Under an arch of wild, wild cloud,
Below an opal mountain bowed,
All in a humid world and cool,
With winds and waters beautiful.
Below an opal mountain bowed,
All in a humid world and cool,
With winds and waters beautiful.
What airs across my farm should breathe!
'Tis sweet where pinks and roses wreath:
But pinks and roses are not sweet
Beside the hidden violet.
'Tis sweet where pinks and roses wreath:
But pinks and roses are not sweet
Beside the hidden violet.
6
No shortest day of all the year
Should fade without a violet's cheer,
Invisible sweetness hid within
And folded up in swathes of green.
Should fade without a violet's cheer,
Invisible sweetness hid within
And folded up in swathes of green.
Though white and purple babes be born
When Daffodil his flaming horn
O'er quiet hills and vales shall sound
And stir the sleepers underground;
When Daffodil his flaming horn
O'er quiet hills and vales shall sound
And stir the sleepers underground;
What country bliss can equal mine,
With violets for my flocks and kine,
With violets for my corn and store?
What could a mortal wish for more?
With violets for my flocks and kine,
With violets for my corn and store?
What could a mortal wish for more?
Under a mountain pansy-dark,
Loved of the eagle and the lark,
And set too low for fear or harm,
'Tis I would have a violet farm.
Loved of the eagle and the lark,
And set too low for fear or harm,
'Tis I would have a violet farm.
7
SWEET PEA
Like butterflies that hover
The reddest rose-tree over,
Or rosy bee,
The rosiest rose's lover.
The reddest rose-tree over,
Or rosy bee,
The rosiest rose's lover.
Or like rose-leaves caught flying
In loveliest flight undying,
The sweet, sweet pea
Sets all the winds to sighing.
In loveliest flight undying,
The sweet, sweet pea
Sets all the winds to sighing.
Scarlet and rose together,
She takes the brilliant weather
Like humming-bird
That flaunts a scarlet feather.
She takes the brilliant weather
Like humming-bird
That flaunts a scarlet feather.
So strong, so fine, so airy,
Poised like a tiptoe fairy,
That careless word
Sets off, or foot unwary.
Poised like a tiptoe fairy,
That careless word
Sets off, or foot unwary.
Ready for flight, yet never
Her links with earth to sever,
So lingers she,
One foot on earth for ever.
Her links with earth to sever,
So lingers she,
One foot on earth for ever.
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But in gold air and azure,
Yet treads her heavenly measure;
The winged sweet pea
Dances for her sweet pleasure.
Yet treads her heavenly measure;
The winged sweet pea
Dances for her sweet pleasure.
9
THE CHOICE
When skies are blue and days are bright
A kitchen-garden's my delight,
Set round with rows of decent box
And blowsy girls of hollyhocks.
A kitchen-garden's my delight,
Set round with rows of decent box
And blowsy girls of hollyhocks.
Before the lark his Lauds hath done
And ere the corncrake's southward gone;
Before the thrush good-night hath said
And the young Summer's put to bed.
And ere the corncrake's southward gone;
Before the thrush good-night hath said
And the young Summer's put to bed.
The currant-bushes' spicy smell,
Homely and honest, likes me well.
The while on strawberries I feast,
And raspberries the sun hath kissed.
Homely and honest, likes me well.
The while on strawberries I feast,
And raspberries the sun hath kissed.
Beans all a-blowing by a row
Of hives that great with honey go,
With mignonette and heaths to yield
The plundering bee his honey-field.
Of hives that great with honey go,
With mignonette and heaths to yield
The plundering bee his honey-field.
Sweet herbs in plenty, blue borage
And the delicious mint and sage,
Rosemary, marjoram, and rue,
And thyme to scent the winter through.
And the delicious mint and sage,
Rosemary, marjoram, and rue,
And thyme to scent the winter through.
10
Here are small apples growing round,
And apricots all golden-gowned,
And plums that presently will flush
And show their bush a Burning Bush.
And apricots all golden-gowned,
And plums that presently will flush
And show their bush a Burning Bush.
Cherries in nets against the wall,
Where Master Thrush his madrigal
Sings, and makes oath a churl is he
Who grudges cherries for a fee.
Where Master Thrush his madrigal
Sings, and makes oath a churl is he
Who grudges cherries for a fee.
Lavender, sweet-briar, orris. Here
Shall Beauty make her pomander,
Her sweet-balls for to lay in clothes
That wrap her as the leaves the rose.
Shall Beauty make her pomander,
Her sweet-balls for to lay in clothes
That wrap her as the leaves the rose.
Take roses red and lilies white,
A kitchen-garden 's my delight;
Its gillyflowers and phlox and cloves,
And its tall cote of irised doves.
A kitchen-garden 's my delight;
Its gillyflowers and phlox and cloves,
And its tall cote of irised doves.
11
THE HERMIT
Who, counting human joys as vain,
Departeth from the ways of men,
And to the desert takes his road
Rejoicing for the love of God;
Departeth from the ways of men,
And to the desert takes his road
Rejoicing for the love of God;
Who dieth to the human hive
That he may save his soul alive,
Shakes from his feet the dust of sin,
And with much weeping is made clean;
That he may save his soul alive,
Shakes from his feet the dust of sin,
And with much weeping is made clean;
Him shall the desert sweetly please,
Sweeter than musk or ambergris;
Unto his sands with song and sport
Companion angels shall resort.
Sweeter than musk or ambergris;
Unto his sands with song and sport
Companion angels shall resort.
The roseate clouds at dawn shall blow
Angels his way, and clouds of snow
Drift angels to the earth and make
Ladders of silver for his sake.
Angels his way, and clouds of snow
Drift angels to the earth and make
Ladders of silver for his sake.
In his palm-tree shall angels stir
Skilled in the lute and dulcimer,
And with their golden wing-feathers
Shall fan him from the noontide airs.
Skilled in the lute and dulcimer,
And with their golden wing-feathers
Shall fan him from the noontide airs.
12
And by his well shall angels lean
And see the golden heads within;
Their hands the date and fig shall bring
To make his meal at evening.
And see the golden heads within;
Their hands the date and fig shall bring
To make his meal at evening.
Him shall no evil beast affright
Since angels guard him day and night;
The vultures they have fled afar
From where God's feathered people are.
Since angels guard him day and night;
The vultures they have fled afar
From where God's feathered people are.
Sweet his estate who in the wild,
No more mere mortal man exiled,
Looks up, from his tear-watered sod,
And sees in heaven the smile of God.
No more mere mortal man exiled,
Looks up, from his tear-watered sod,
And sees in heaven the smile of God.
13
SUMMER NIGHT
All in the leafy lanes
The glow-worm lights his lamp.
The nightingale complains
In scented dew and damp.
The glow-worm lights his lamp.
The nightingale complains
In scented dew and damp.
The nightingale her ache
Bares to the lonely night,
When there is none awake,
Nothing in vale or height.
Bares to the lonely night,
When there is none awake,
Nothing in vale or height.
The glow-worm lights his lamp
Under the blossomed may,
Hung in the dew and damp
His lamp lights up the way.
Under the blossomed may,
Hung in the dew and damp
His lamp lights up the way.
The nightingale complains
All night to field and grove;
The glow-worm in the lanes
Hath lit a lamp to Love.
All night to field and grove;
The glow-worm in the lanes
Hath lit a lamp to Love.
14
THE PASTORAL PILGRIM
For me the town sets forth in vain
Her painted pleasures in a train.
For I arise and go
To a delicious world I know.
Her painted pleasures in a train.
For I arise and go
To a delicious world I know.
There the gold-fretted fields are set
Like pearls within a carcanet
With daisies fine and fresh,
And kingcups tangled in a mesh.
Like pearls within a carcanet
With daisies fine and fresh,
And kingcups tangled in a mesh.
The pastoral lands I seek where stray
The strawberry cattle and the gray,
Knee deep in dew and scent,
Placid, and breathing forth content.
The strawberry cattle and the gray,
Knee deep in dew and scent,
Placid, and breathing forth content.
Brave copses line each hill, and there
The pleasant habitations are
With roses to the eaves,
And nightingales amid the leaves.
The pleasant habitations are
With roses to the eaves,
And nightingales amid the leaves.
When I shall wake there to the sun
And the birds' early antiphon,
And lusty bee his chant,
How shall I grieve, how shall I want?
And the birds' early antiphon,
And lusty bee his chant,
How shall I grieve, how shall I want?
15
Sweet peas and dappled mignonette
Below my crystal window set,
Clear air and lucent skies,
And the dove's whispers and replies.
Below my crystal window set,
Clear air and lucent skies,
And the dove's whispers and replies.
A garden and an orchard white
And pink—an orchard's my delight,
Whose very name doth bring
Airs of the summer, joy of spring.
And pink—an orchard's my delight,
Whose very name doth bring
Airs of the summer, joy of spring.
And having these shall I repine
For houses, houses in a line,
With other men to dwell?
Give me my staff and cockle-shell.
For houses, houses in a line,
With other men to dwell?
Give me my staff and cockle-shell.
16
ROSES
The moon hid her face to-night,
Veiled her in roses,
Rose-leaves in brilliant flight
From the sun's closes.
Veiled her in roses,
Rose-leaves in brilliant flight
From the sun's closes.
Rose of a million leaves,
How she is scattered!
Like to earth's rose that grieves,
Dewless, unwatered.
How she is scattered!
Like to earth's rose that grieves,
Dewless, unwatered.
Over the leaf-green sky
Rose-leaves are drifting;
Now the wind heaps them high,
Now is a sifting.
Rose-leaves are drifting;
Now the wind heaps them high,
Now is a sifting.
There in the midmost flare
Dian, capricious,
Draws the rose o'er her hair,
Scented, delicious.
Dian, capricious,
Draws the rose o'er her hair,
Scented, delicious.
There from the rosiest heaps
Dian discloses
Dimly her eyes and lips,
Smiling through roses.
Dian discloses
Dimly her eyes and lips,
Smiling through roses.
17
THE OLD LOVE
Out of my door I step into
The country, all her scent and dew,
Nor travel there by a hard road,
Dusty and far from my abode.
The country, all her scent and dew,
Nor travel there by a hard road,
Dusty and far from my abode.
The country washes to my door
Green miles on miles in soft uproar,
The thunder of the woods, and then
The backwash of green surf again.
Green miles on miles in soft uproar,
The thunder of the woods, and then
The backwash of green surf again.
Beyond the feverfew and stocks,
The guelder-rose and hollyhocks;
Outside my trellised porch a tree
Of lilac frames a sky for me.
The guelder-rose and hollyhocks;
Outside my trellised porch a tree
Of lilac frames a sky for me.
A stretch of primrose and pale green
To hold the tender Hesper in;
Hesper that by the moon makes pale
Her silver keel and silver sail.
To hold the tender Hesper in;
Hesper that by the moon makes pale
Her silver keel and silver sail.
The country silence wraps me quite,
Silence and song and pure delight;
The country beckons all the day
Smiling, and but a step away.
Silence and song and pure delight;
The country beckons all the day
Smiling, and but a step away.
18
This is that country seen across,
How many a league of love and loss,
Prayed for and longed for, and as far
As fountains in the desert are.
How many a league of love and loss,
Prayed for and longed for, and as far
As fountains in the desert are.
This is that country at my door,
Whose fragrant airs run on before,
And call me when the first birds stir
In the green wood to walk with her.
Whose fragrant airs run on before,
And call me when the first birds stir
In the green wood to walk with her.
19
THE FOOTPATH WAY
The winding road lies white and bare,
Heavy in dust that takes the glare,
The thirsty hedgerows and parched grass
Dream of a time when no road was.
Heavy in dust that takes the glare,
The thirsty hedgerows and parched grass
Dream of a time when no road was.
Beyond, the fields are full in view;
Heavy in herbage and in dew
The great-eyed kine browse thankfully;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
Heavy in herbage and in dew
The great-eyed kine browse thankfully;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
This stile, where country lovers tryst,
Where many a man and maid have kissed,
Invites us sweetly, and the wood
Beckons us to her solitude.
Where many a man and maid have kissed,
Invites us sweetly, and the wood
Beckons us to her solitude.
Leave men and lumbering wains behind,
And dusty roads, all blank and blind;
Come, tread on velvet and on silk,
Damasked with daisies, white as milk.
And dusty roads, all blank and blind;
Come, tread on velvet and on silk,
Damasked with daisies, white as milk.
Those dryads of the wood, that some
Call the wild hyacinths, now are come,
And hold their revels in a night
Of emerald flecked with candle-light.
Call the wild hyacinths, now are come,
And hold their revels in a night
Of emerald flecked with candle-light.
20
The fountains of the meadows play,
This is the wild bee's holiday;
When summer-snows have sweetly drest
The pasture like a wedding-guest,
This is the wild bee's holiday;
When summer-snows have sweetly drest
The pasture like a wedding-guest,
By fields of beans that shall eclipse
The honey on the rose's lips,
With woodruff and the new hay's breath,
And wild thyme sweetest in her death.
The honey on the rose's lips,
With woodruff and the new hay's breath,
And wild thyme sweetest in her death.
Skirting the rich man's lawn and hall,
The footpath way is free to all;
For us his pinks and roses blow:
Fling him thanksgiving ere we go!
The footpath way is free to all;
For us his pinks and roses blow:
Fling him thanksgiving ere we go!
By orchards yet in rosy veils,
By hidden nests of nightingales,
Through lonesome valleys where all day
The rabbit people scurry and play,
By hidden nests of nightingales,
Through lonesome valleys where all day
The rabbit people scurry and play,
The footpath sets her tender lure.
This is the country for the poor;
The high-road seeks the crowded sea;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
This is the country for the poor;
The high-road seeks the crowded sea;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
21
POPPY
The poppy flaunts a petticoat
Of airy films that fly and float;
Of fairy gauzes, fairy-fine,
Lucent and crystalline.
Of airy films that fly and float;
Of fairy gauzes, fairy-fine,
Lucent and crystalline.
Lighter than lightest gossamer,
Or the moth's wing at eve astir;
Frills of the scarlet set arow,
And rosiest rose on snow.
Or the moth's wing at eve astir;
Frills of the scarlet set arow,
And rosiest rose on snow.
No dancing Graces can reveal
Flounces like hers from knee to heel;
No fairy twirl of fairy girl
Scatters such rose and pearl.
Flounces like hers from knee to heel;
No fairy twirl of fairy girl
Scatters such rose and pearl.
The fairies laundered this last night,
A glow-worm light for candle-light;
This in the dews was washed and steeped
While drowsy mortals slept.
A glow-worm light for candle-light;
This in the dews was washed and steeped
While drowsy mortals slept.
The little fairy fingers feat
Ironed it out so neat and sweet,
And set the frills with dainty skill,
Ruffled at the wind's will.
Ironed it out so neat and sweet,
And set the frills with dainty skill,
Ruffled at the wind's will.
22
The poppy wears her silk and lace,
Clear-starched, with such a delicate grace,
Her silken flounces hides and shows
As the wind goes and blows.
Clear-starched, with such a delicate grace,
Her silken flounces hides and shows
As the wind goes and blows.
23
THE WIND IN THE TREES
Sound of waters in the tree
All new-leafed and heavenly,
Waters going, waters flowing
To some far belovèd sea.
All new-leafed and heavenly,
Waters going, waters flowing
To some far belovèd sea.
Every tree is vocal; under
The clear bird-notes a soft thunder
Of the waters flowing, going
Some dim waterway of wonder.
The clear bird-notes a soft thunder
Of the waters flowing, going
Some dim waterway of wonder.
Sound of waters hurrying past,
Rivers travelling, quiet, fast,
Many waters, flowing, growing,
Find the belovèd sea at last.
Rivers travelling, quiet, fast,
Many waters, flowing, growing,
Find the belovèd sea at last.
24
IN MAY
Thrushes in twilight green
Sing from a leafy screen;
The linnet and the lark,
Only in deepest dark,
Sleep the still hours away
Betwixt the day and day.
Sing from a leafy screen;
The linnet and the lark,
Only in deepest dark,
Sleep the still hours away
Betwixt the day and day.
The blackbird calls and calls
Through quiet evenfalls,
Breaking the heart to know
Such songs must pass, must go,
Such beauty die, alas,
Beauty of things that pass!
Through quiet evenfalls,
Breaking the heart to know
Such songs must pass, must go,
Such beauty die, alas,
Beauty of things that pass!
Just for a day, an hour,
Such green in bush and bower.
Airy as things with wings
Mortal, immortal things,
Dearer because, alas,
Their hour runs in the glass!
Such green in bush and bower.
Airy as things with wings
Mortal, immortal things,
Dearer because, alas,
Their hour runs in the glass!
Good-bye, ah, sweetest sweeting,
Pouring that heavenly greeting!
Music to-night, to-morrow
The world is old for sorrow.
Even as you sing you fly.
Beauty, good-night, good-bye.
Pouring that heavenly greeting!
Music to-night, to-morrow
The world is old for sorrow.
Even as you sing you fly.
Beauty, good-night, good-bye.
| Poems (1901) | |