Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular by Francis T. Palgrave |
 |
|
 |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
XXVA DORSET VALLEY
|
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
|
 | Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular |  |
188
XXV
A DORSET VALLEY
Between Monkton Wyld and Reed's Barn, Lyme
It is no cemented mile-path,
Of Rome's imperial day,
That drives over down and valley—
Right onward its ruthless way:
Of Rome's imperial day,
That drives over down and valley—
Right onward its ruthless way:
Nor in years of the mine and the furnace
Was it laid by a later hand,
To be one of the veins of iron
Which bear the pulse of the land:—
Was it laid by a later hand,
To be one of the veins of iron
Which bear the pulse of the land:—
But the path that I show you, children,
Has an older way of its own.
And took its sweet steps through the valley
Ere Roman and Saxon were known.
Has an older way of its own.
And took its sweet steps through the valley
Ere Roman and Saxon were known.
It winds like a grassy streamlet
'Twixt hollies and hazels old,
And the palms of silvery velvet,
Where the willow-wren twinkles in gold.
'Twixt hollies and hazels old,
And the palms of silvery velvet,
Where the willow-wren twinkles in gold.
189
Where the wayside slopes are embosom'd
In gorse and the feathery brake;
Where the round root-stems of the beeches
Coil like a gray old snake:
In gorse and the feathery brake;
Where the round root-stems of the beeches
Coil like a gray old snake:
Where the sky is pierced with the arrows
Of the sweet shrill linnet aloft,
And red robin and black bird answer
With mellower song from the croft;
Of the sweet shrill linnet aloft,
And red robin and black bird answer
With mellower song from the croft;
And the cottages peep in their whiteness
'Mid the holts of the valley wild,
And shine as the smile that lightens
The face of a pensive child;
'Mid the holts of the valley wild,
And shine as the smile that lightens
The face of a pensive child;
And little ones stand in the doorway
With their handfuls of cowslip gold,
While the smoke goes white from the hearthstone,
As it went in the days of old:—
With their handfuls of cowslip gold,
While the smoke goes white from the hearthstone,
As it went in the days of old:—
And we smile as we see the children
Smile in their valley green;
Our relic spared from Old England;
Our own dear Dorset scene.
Smile in their valley green;
Our relic spared from Old England;
Our own dear Dorset scene.
| Amenophis and Other Poems Sacred and Secular | |