The Comrades Poems Old & New: By William Canton |
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Fairy Heavens |
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 | The Comrades |  |
157
Fairy Heavens
Have you seen the forest-pool
In the summer? Clear and cool,
Glassing, 'mid the trees it lies,
Silvery clouds and sapphire skies.
In the summer? Clear and cool,
Glassing, 'mid the trees it lies,
Silvery clouds and sapphire skies.
When in windless August days
Not a ripple o'er it plays,
One can almost think he sees
Through to the Antipodes.
Not a ripple o'er it plays,
One can almost think he sees
Through to the Antipodes.
Mirrored reeds must scarcely know
Whether up or down they grow;
And the trees doubt whether they're
Crystal-washed or parched in air.
Whether up or down they grow;
And the trees doubt whether they're
Crystal-washed or parched in air.
158
Brindled Crummie on the brink
Pauses as she stoops to drink;
When she drinks, she drinks for two—
'Tis a wondrous thing to do!
Pauses as she stoops to drink;
When she drinks, she drinks for two—
'Tis a wondrous thing to do!
Swallows, flashing to and fro,
Strike the water as they go—
Hawking insects? Not a fly;
Only puzzled with that sky.
Strike the water as they go—
Hawking insects? Not a fly;
Only puzzled with that sky.
East and west, and north and south
Have they flown from dearth and drouth:
'Twould, indeed, be sweet and strange
Through those nether heavens to range!
Have they flown from dearth and drouth:
'Twould, indeed, be sweet and strange
Through those nether heavens to range!
Puff!—a sudden whiff of air
Stars the mirror everywhere.
Myriad ripples, gemmed and curled,
Have annulled a fairy world.
Stars the mirror everywhere.
Myriad ripples, gemmed and curled,
Have annulled a fairy world.
Any clown in summer may
View these marvels day by day;
Day by day we pass them by
With an undelighted eye.
View these marvels day by day;
Day by day we pass them by
With an undelighted eye.
159
Were they seen but once an age,
Princes would make pilgrimage
To the happy hallowed ground
Where these double heavens were found!
Princes would make pilgrimage
To the happy hallowed ground
Where these double heavens were found!
| The Comrades | |