 | The Last Ballad and Other Poems |  |
132
AFTERNOON
The hostess of the sky, the moon,
Already stoops to entertain
The golden light of afternoon,
And the wan earthshine from the plain.
Already stoops to entertain
The golden light of afternoon,
And the wan earthshine from the plain.
No rustling wings, no voices warp
The ripened stillness of the day;
Behind the Downs the sheltered thorpe
Expectant overhangs the way.
The ripened stillness of the day;
Behind the Downs the sheltered thorpe
Expectant overhangs the way.
What laughter, whisper, sigh or groan,
A hazardous, a destined sound,
Shall first usurp the airy throne
Where silence rules with twilight crowned?
A hazardous, a destined sound,
Shall first usurp the airy throne
Where silence rules with twilight crowned?
133
Hark! hark! an antique noise! Across
The road the bellows fires anew
With jar and sough the hissing dross,
Close-raked about the half-wrought shoe.
The road the bellows fires anew
With jar and sough the hissing dross,
Close-raked about the half-wrought shoe.
From the swart chimney lilac smoke,
The blacksmith's prayer, to heaven ascends;
The hammers double stroke on stroke;
The stubborn iron sparkling bends.
The blacksmith's prayer, to heaven ascends;
The hammers double stroke on stroke;
The stubborn iron sparkling bends.
Then voices near and far break out;
The starlings in the tree-tops scold;
The larks against each other shout;
The blackbirds scatter pearl and gold;
The starlings in the tree-tops scold;
The larks against each other shout;
The blackbirds scatter pearl and gold;
The jackdaws prate; the cuckoos call;
And shrill enough to reach the spheres
Resounds the brazen madrigal
Of half a hundred chanticleers.
And shrill enough to reach the spheres
Resounds the brazen madrigal
Of half a hundred chanticleers.
| The Last Ballad and Other Poems | |