 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
Arethusa Meadow
Far off, among the distant hills,
A lonely meadow lies;
Where grows a flower of beauty rare,
But hid from careless eyes.
A lonely meadow lies;
Where grows a flower of beauty rare,
But hid from careless eyes.
Though all around the woodwax spreads
Its brilliant cloth of gold,
More dazzling than was ever seen
By knights and kings of old;
Its brilliant cloth of gold,
More dazzling than was ever seen
By knights and kings of old;
And the azalea in the swamp,
Its fragrance sheds around;
Yet not for these my feet have sought
This unfrequented ground.
Its fragrance sheds around;
Yet not for these my feet have sought
This unfrequented ground.
But for the Arethusa rare,
That in the meadow grows;
With petals blushing like the dawn,
Or like the summer's rose.
That in the meadow grows;
With petals blushing like the dawn,
Or like the summer's rose.
With down-cast look it bends its head,
As shunning human gaze;
Nor asking, like yon gorgeous flowers,
For words of human praise.
As shunning human gaze;
Nor asking, like yon gorgeous flowers,
For words of human praise.
Like her, who gave to it its name,
From man's pursuit it hides;
And where his feet but seldom come
Midst blue eyed grass abides.
From man's pursuit it hides;
And where his feet but seldom come
Midst blue eyed grass abides.
467
Sprinkling the low wet meadow o'er,
With flowers of loveliest bloom;
That shed upon the passing breeze
Their delicate perfume.
With flowers of loveliest bloom;
That shed upon the passing breeze
Their delicate perfume.
Poem No. 114; c. 3 July 1874
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