 | Poems at Home and Abroad |  |
119
A Memory
Hard is the road that Duty takes!I in London—you at the Lakes.
I in London's riot and roar—
You by the peaceful Rydal shore.
I in London's smother and smell—
You in a fragrant Loughrigg dell.
I where no birds flutter and sing—
You where the delicate flycatcher's wing
Poises and dips, while the nestlings call
For mother and food from the garden wall,
Till the sun goes down, and the lilac shale
Of Nab Scar darkens above the dale.
But still I can dream of a cottage blest
With Earth's best happiness—home and rest;
Can see in the fern the moving fleece
Of the Herdwick mother, who feeds in peace;
And well can remember how white at morn
Against blue distances shone the thorn;
120
Below us, that made our silence sweet:
And so, though the city is thronged and loud,
I can still each day be alone in the crowd;
Can still go the road that Duty takes,
Though I am in London, you at the Lakes.
| Poems at Home and Abroad | |