 | The Poems of A. C. Benson |  |
99
HIDDEN LIFE
The turf is marble underfoot,
The fountain drips with icy spears;
And round about the cedar's root
The hungry blackbird pecks and peers.
The fountain drips with icy spears;
And round about the cedar's root
The hungry blackbird pecks and peers.
The mud that rose beside the wheel
In liquid flake, stands stiff and hard;
Unbroken lies the dinted heel,
With icy streaks the rut is barred.
In liquid flake, stands stiff and hard;
Unbroken lies the dinted heel,
With icy streaks the rut is barred.
Behind the knotted black tree-tops
The solemn sunset waning burns,
The pheasant mutters in the copse,
And patters through the crackling ferns.
The solemn sunset waning burns,
The pheasant mutters in the copse,
And patters through the crackling ferns.
Yet down below the frozen rind
The silent waters creep and meet;
The roots press downwards unconfined,
Where deeper burns the vital heat.
The silent waters creep and meet;
The roots press downwards unconfined,
Where deeper burns the vital heat.
As when the summer sky is clear,
And heat is winking on the hill,
The swimmer rests beside the weir
To feel the fresh luxurious chill;
And heat is winking on the hill,
The swimmer rests beside the weir
To feel the fresh luxurious chill;
100
So earth lies still beneath the night,
And takes no thought of wintry woe,
She shudders with a keen delight,
And nestles in her robe of snow.
And takes no thought of wintry woe,
She shudders with a keen delight,
And nestles in her robe of snow.
| The Poems of A. C. Benson | |