 | The Collected Poems of Lord De Tabley |  |
A PASTORAL
(VENETIAN SCHOOL)
Arcadian spaces of great grass arise;
Crisp lambs are merry: hoary vales are laid,
Studded with roe-deer and wild strawberries;
In one a shepherd tabours near a maid;
Crisp lambs are merry: hoary vales are laid,
Studded with roe-deer and wild strawberries;
In one a shepherd tabours near a maid;
Who teases at the button of his cloak,
Where rarely underneath them grows the herb;
A squirrel eyes the lovers from an oak,
And speckled horses pasture without curb,
Where rarely underneath them grows the herb;
A squirrel eyes the lovers from an oak,
And speckled horses pasture without curb,
In a fair meadow set with tulip-heads.
A water-mill rolls little crested falls
Of olive torrent, broken in grey threads.
A grave-yard crowds black crosses in square walls.
A water-mill rolls little crested falls
Of olive torrent, broken in grey threads.
A grave-yard crowds black crosses in square walls.
And up behind in a still orchard close
The apples ripen, crushing down the trees,
In millions, russet-green and amber-rose,
Fit for the gardens of the Hesperides.
The apples ripen, crushing down the trees,
In millions, russet-green and amber-rose,
Fit for the gardens of the Hesperides.
Such colour as the morning brings the skies,
Such mirage as our dreams in childhood gave,
Infinite cadence of ethereal dyes,
The radiance of a rainbow-burnished wave.
Such mirage as our dreams in childhood gave,
Infinite cadence of ethereal dyes,
The radiance of a rainbow-burnished wave.
Quaint pastoral Arcadia, where are set
Thy rainy lands and reddish underwoods?
Earth has not held thy fabled sunsets yet,
Though lovers build their palace on thy roods.
Thy rainy lands and reddish underwoods?
Earth has not held thy fabled sunsets yet,
Though lovers build their palace on thy roods.
| The Collected Poems of Lord De Tabley | |