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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Songs of Womanhood, by Laurence Alma-Tadema
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Songs of Womanhood
+
+
+Author: Laurence Alma-Tadema
+
+
+
+Release Date: August 19, 2011 [eBook #37132]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SONGS OF WOMANHOOD***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
+Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries
+(http://www.archive.org/details/toronto)
+
+
+
+Note: Images of the original pages are available through
+ Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries. See
+ http://www.archive.org/details/songsofwomanhood00almauoft
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+ Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold).
+
+
+
+
+
+SONGS OF WOMANHOOD
+
+ * * * * *
+
+_BY THE SAME AUTHOR._
+
+_Uniform with this Volume._
+
+REALMS OF UNKNOWN KINGS.
+
+
+=The Athenaeum.=--'_In this volume the critic recognises with sudden
+joy the work of a true poet._'
+
+=The Saturday Review.=--'_It is a book in which deep feeling speaks
+... and it has something of that essentially poetical thought, the
+thought that sees, which lies deeper than feeling._'
+
+LONDON: GRANT RICHARDS.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+SONGS OF WOMANHOOD
+
+by
+
+LAURENCE ALMA TADEMA
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Grant Richards
+48 Leicester Square
+London
+1903
+
+Edinburgh: Printed by T. and A. Constable
+
+
+
+
+A great number of the following verses are already known to readers of
+_The Herb o' Grace_, and of the little reprint, _Songs of Childhood_.
+As these pamphlets, however, did not reach the public, it has been
+thought advisable to re-issue the verses in book-form, together with
+three or four more collected from various reviews, and a number that
+are here printed for the first time.
+
+ L.A.T.
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+CHILDHOOD
+
+ KING BABY 3
+
+ A BLESSING FOR THE BLESSED 5
+
+ TO RAOUL BOUCHARD 8
+
+ TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW 10
+
+ THE NESTING HOUR 11
+
+ THE LITTLE SISTER--Bath-time 12
+ Bed-time 13
+
+ A TWILIGHT SONG 14
+
+ A WINTRY LULLABY 15
+
+ THE WARM CRADLE 16
+
+ THE DROOPING FLOWER 17
+
+ MOTHERS IN THE GARDEN--I. 18
+ II. 19
+
+ THE GRAVEL PATH 20
+
+ THE NEW PELISSE 21
+
+ SOLACE 22
+
+ STRANGE LANDS 23
+
+ MARCH MEADOWS--A Lark 24
+ Lambs 25
+
+ THE ROBIN 26
+
+ THE MOUSE 27
+
+ THE BAT 28
+
+ THE SWALLOW 29
+
+ SNOWDROPS 30
+
+ FROST 32
+
+ APPLES 33
+
+ LONELY CHILDREN--I. 34
+ II. 35
+
+ PLAYGROUNDS 36
+
+ FAIRINGS 38
+
+ THE FLOWER TO THE BUD 40
+
+ SIX SONGS OF GIRLHOOD
+
+ LOVE AND THE MAIDENS 43
+
+ AWAKENINGS 44
+
+ THE CLOUDED SOUL 46
+
+ THE HEALER 47
+
+ THE OPEN DOOR 48
+
+ THE FUGITIVE 49
+
+
+THE FAITHFUL WIFE 53
+
+
+WOMANHOOD
+
+ A WOMAN TO HER POET 63
+
+ THE INFIDEL 64
+
+ LOVE WITHIN VOWS 65
+
+ THE EXILE 66
+
+ THE SCAR INDELIBLE 67
+
+ REVULSION 68
+
+ THE CAPTIVE 69
+
+ POSSESSION'S ANGUISH 70
+
+ TREASURES OF POVERTY 72
+
+ SOLITUDE 73
+
+ THE HEART ASLEEP 74
+
+ ADVERSITY 75
+
+ FACES OF THE DEAD 76
+
+ THE SLEEPER 80
+
+ STARS 81
+
+ TRELAWNY'S GRAVE 82
+
+ V.R.I.--JANUARY 22, 1901 83
+
+ LINES ON A PICTURE BY MARY GOW 84
+
+ TO SERENITY 85
+
+
+ELEVEN SONNETS 89
+
+
+THE OPEN AIR
+
+ SUNSHINE IN FEBRUARY 103
+
+ THE CUCKOO 104
+
+ A SONG IN THE MORNING 107
+
+ IN A LONDON SQUARE 109
+
+ THE CALL OF THE GREEN 111
+
+ SUMMER ENDING 112
+
+ NEAR AUTUMN 114
+
+ NOVEMBER 115
+
+ THE COMMON WEALTH 117
+
+
+
+
+CHILDHOOD
+
+
+
+
+King Baby
+
+
+ King Baby on his throne
+ Sits reigning O, sits reigning O!
+ King Baby on his throne
+ Sits reigning all alone.
+
+ His throne is Mother's knee,
+ So tender O, so tender O!
+ His throne is Mother's knee,
+ Where none may sit but he.
+
+ His crown it is of gold,
+ So curly O, so curly O!
+ His crown it is of gold,
+ In shining tendrils rolled.
+
+ His kingdom is my heart,
+ So loyal O, so loyal O!
+ His kingdom is my heart,
+ His own in every part.
+
+ Divine are all his laws,
+ So simple O, so simple O!
+ Divine are all his laws,
+ With Love for end and cause.
+
+ King Baby on his throne
+ Sits reigning O, sits reigning O!
+ King Baby on his throne
+ Sits reigning all alone.
+
+
+
+
+A Blessing for the Blessed
+
+
+ When the sun has left the hill-top,
+ And the daisy-fringe is furled,
+ When the birds from wood and meadow
+ In their hidden nests are curled,
+ Then I think of all the babies
+ That are sleeping in the world....
+
+ There are babies in the high lands
+ And babies in the low,
+ There are pale ones wrapped in furry skins
+ On the margin of the snow,
+ And brown ones naked in the isles,
+ Where all the spices grow.
+
+ And some are in the palace
+ On a white and downy bed,
+ And some are in the garret
+ With a clout beneath their head,
+ And some are on the cold hard earth,
+ Whose mothers have no bread.
+
+ O little men and women,
+ Dear flowers yet unblown!
+ O little kings and beggars
+ Of the pageant yet unshown!
+ Sleep soft and dream pale dreams now,
+ To-morrow is your own....
+
+ Though some shall walk in darkness,
+ And others in the light,
+ Though some shall smile and others weep
+ In the silence of the night,
+ When Life has touched with many hues
+ Your souls now clear and white:
+
+ God save you, little children!
+ And make your eyes to see
+ His finger pointing in the dark
+ Whatever you may be,
+ Till one and all, through Life and Death,
+ Pass to Eternity....
+
+
+
+
+To Raoul Bouchard
+
+
+ Dear were your kisses, baby boy,
+ Your weight upon my arm:
+ Gay were your tuneful cries of joy
+ As I danced you round the farm:
+ And sweet your softness when we lay
+ Laughing and cooing in the hay.
+
+ The summer sun will shine again,
+ Old arms will mow and reap;
+ There'll be new flowers on the plain,
+ New lambs among the sheep;
+ But never in this world of men
+ Shall we two be as we were then.
+
+ Your feet have touched the ground, my bird,
+ And now your wondering eyes
+ Will gaze no more as if they heard
+ A seraph in the skies:
+ A little boy, with leap and shout
+ You'll wildly chase your dreams about.
+
+ But when you are a man, soft thing,
+ And life has made you stern,
+ May we who watched you in your spring
+ Still feel our babe return
+ In hallowed moments, such as shine
+ When thought or deed makes man divine.
+
+
+
+
+To-day and To-morrow
+
+
+ Little hands--what will you grasp
+ When you leave this nest, O?
+ Little arms--what will you clasp
+ Against that tender breast, O?
+ Cling to mother's finger, babe,
+ Throw sweet arms about me!
+ Here no noons may linger, babe,
+ Soon you'll love without me.
+
+ Little toes--where will you turn,
+ East or south or west, O?
+ Little feet--what sands that burn
+ Will you soon have pressed, O?
+ Lie on mother's knee, my own,
+ Dance your heels about me!
+ Apples leave the tree, my own,
+ Soon you'll live without me....
+
+
+
+
+The Nesting Hour
+
+
+ Robin-friend has gone to bed,
+ Little wing to hide his head--
+ Mother's bird must slumber too
+ Just as baby Robins do--
+ When the stars begin to rise,
+ Birds and babies close their eyes.
+
+
+
+
+The Little Sister
+
+
+BATH-TIME:
+
+ Baby's got no legs at all,
+ They're soft and pinky, crumpled things;
+ If he stood up he'd only fall:
+ But then, you see, he's used to wings.
+
+
+BED-TIME:
+
+ Baby baby bye,
+ Close your little eye!
+ When the dark begins to creep,
+ Tiny-wees must go to sleep.
+
+ Lammy lammy lie,
+ I am seven, I;
+ Little boys must sleep and wait,
+ If they want their bed-time late.
+
+ Fidgy fidgy fie,
+ There's no need to cry!
+ Soon you'll never dress in white,
+ But sit up working half the night....
+
+
+
+
+A Twilight Song
+
+
+ Baby moon, 'tis time for bed,
+ Owlet leaves his nest now;
+ Hide your little horned head
+ In the twilight west now;
+ When you're old and round and bright,
+ You shall stay and shine all night.
+
+ Baby girl is going too
+ In her bed to creep now;
+ She is little, just like you,
+ Time it is to sleep now;
+ When she's old and tired and wise,
+ She'll be glad to close her eyes.
+
+
+
+
+A Wintry Lullaby
+
+
+ Blow, wind, blow,
+ The fields are white with snow--
+ Sleeping daisies, deep and warm,
+ Cannot hear the Winter storm.
+
+ Freeze, air, freeze,
+ The rime is on the trees--
+ Sleeping buds within the bough,
+ Dream of spring and cuckoos now.
+
+ Turn, earth, turn,
+ The flames of life do burn--
+ Sleeping girl, my baby dove,
+ Knows no world but mother's love.
+
+
+
+
+The Warm Cradle
+
+
+ Hush, baby, hush,
+ Sweet robin's in the bush--
+ All the birdies lie so quiet,
+ Won't my little dicky try it?
+ Hush, baby, hush.
+
+ Sleep, baby, sleep,
+ The lammies love the sheep--
+ Woolly babes all nestle cosy,
+ Lie, my lambkin, warm and rosy,
+ Sleep, baby, sleep.
+
+ Dream, baby, dream,
+ Our feet are in the stream--
+ Stones below but stars above, child,
+ Life is warm so long we love, child,
+ Dream, baby, dream.
+
+
+
+
+The Drooping Flower
+
+
+ Baby's rather ill to-night,
+ Little face is long and white,
+ Eyes are all too large and bright--
+ What shall mother do now?
+
+ Never leave him out of sight,
+ Hold him warm and still and tight,
+ Make him well with all her might,
+ That's what she will do now.
+
+
+
+
+Mothers in the Garden
+
+
+I
+
+ Wagtail--pied Wagtail--
+ What tremor's in your breast?
+ On nimble feet, when we draw near,
+ You run about to hide your fear,
+ As if to say: There's nothing here,
+ I have no nest....
+
+ Wagtail--pied Wagtail--
+ We too their voices heard;
+ Away then to the water-side,
+ And fetch the food for which they cried;
+ From us there is no need to hide,
+ My dainty bird.
+
+II
+
+ The thrushes' nest has fallen
+ From the ivy on the wall:
+ The dear blue eggs are broken,
+ All broken by the fall.
+
+ But we heard a song at sundown
+ That said: O tears are vain!--
+ And babe and I ceased grieving:
+ We think they will build again.
+
+
+
+
+The Gravel Path
+
+
+ Tiny mustn't frown
+ When she tumbles down;
+ If the wind should change--Ah me,
+ What a face her face would be!
+
+ Rub away the dirt,
+ Say she wasn't hurt;
+ What a world 'twould be--O my,
+ If all who fell began to cry!
+
+
+
+
+The New Pelisse
+
+
+ Baby's got a new pelisse,
+ Very soft and very neat--
+ Like a lammy in her fleece
+ She's all white from head to feet.
+
+ Thirty lambs each gave a curl,
+ Mother sewed them, stitch by stitch--
+ All to clothe a baby-girl:
+ Don't you think she's very rich?
+
+
+
+
+Solace
+
+
+ Whom does Miss belong to?
+ Just to Mother, Mother only:
+ That's whom Miss belongs to,
+ --And Mother's never lonely.
+
+ Whom's this little song to?
+ Just to Baby, Baby only:
+ That's whom little song's to,
+ --And Baby's never lonely.
+
+
+
+
+Strange Lands
+
+
+ Where do you come from, Mr. Jay?--
+ 'From the land of Play, from the land of Play.'
+ And where can that be, Mr. Jay?--
+ 'Far away--far away.'
+
+ Where do you come from, Mrs. Dove?--
+ 'From the land of Love, from the land of Love.'
+ And how do you get there, Mrs. Dove?--
+ 'Look above--look above.'
+
+ Where do you come from, Baby Miss?--
+ 'From the land of Bliss, from the land of Bliss.'
+ And what is the way there, Baby Miss?--
+ 'Mother's kiss--mother's kiss.'
+
+
+
+
+March Meadows
+
+
+A LARK:
+
+ Lark-bird, lark-bird soaring high,
+ Are you never weary?
+ When you reach the empty sky,
+ Are the clouds not dreary?
+ Don't you sometimes long to be
+ A silent gold-fish in the sea?
+
+ Gold-fish, gold-fish diving deep,
+ Are you never sad, say?
+ When you feel the cold waves creep
+ Are you really glad, say?
+ Don't you sometimes long to sing
+ And be a lark-bird on the wing?
+
+
+LAMBS:
+
+ O little lambs! the month is cold,
+ The sky is very gray;
+ You shiver in the misty grass
+ And bleat at all the winds that pass;
+ Wait! when I'm big--some day--
+ I'll build a roof to every fold.
+
+ But now that I am small, I'll pray
+ At mother's knee for you;
+ Perhaps the angels with their wings
+ Will come and warm you, little things;
+ I'm sure that, if God knew,
+ He'd let the lambs be born in May.
+
+
+
+
+The Robin
+
+
+ When father takes his spade to dig,
+ Then Robin comes along;
+ He sits upon a little twig
+ And sings a little song.
+
+ Or, if the trees are rather far,
+ He does not stay alone,
+ But comes up close to where we are
+ And bobs upon a stone.
+
+
+
+
+The Mouse
+
+
+ Little Master Mouse,
+ You'd better leave this house;
+ Crumbs are scarce upon the floor,
+ And pussy sleeps behind the door.
+
+ Mousie soft and grey,
+ I wish you'd run away!
+ Cook will catch you in a trap,
+ And mice mayn't sit in mother's lap....
+
+
+
+
+The Bat
+
+
+ Bat, Bat, that flies at night
+ When angels' breath has blown the light,
+ When all the bees are hived in bed
+ And swallow sleeps with hidden head:
+ Songless bird! until this hour,
+ Among the bells in the ivied tower
+ Have you hung dreaming in your house?
+ Are you a living winged mouse?--
+ Bat, Bat, I often doubt;
+ And when I see you flit about,
+ I wonder if the dead birds roam
+ In circles round their nestlings' home....
+
+
+
+
+The Swallow
+
+
+ O Swallow! if I had your wings
+ I would not stay below;
+ I'd leave off catching flies and things
+ And up to Heaven I'd go.
+
+ I'd sail above the tallest tree
+ That waves its arms on high;
+ Beyond the furthest cloud we see,
+ And deeper than the sky.
+
+ Perhaps, when live birds find the way,
+ They're all sent down again,
+ And that is why you dive to-day
+ For insects in the rain.
+
+
+
+
+Snowdrops
+
+
+ Little ladies, white and green,
+ With your spears about you,
+ Will you tell us where you've been
+ Since we lived without you?
+
+ You are sweet, and fresh, and clean,
+ With your pearly faces;
+ In the dark earth where you've been
+ There are wondrous places:
+
+ Yet you come again, serene,
+ When the leaves are hidden;
+ Bringing joy from where you've been
+ You return unbidden--
+
+ Little ladies, white and green,
+ Are you glad to cheer us?
+ Hunger not for where you've been,
+ Stay till Spring be near us!
+
+
+
+
+Frost
+
+
+ The flowers in the garden
+ Are very cold at night;
+ When I look out of window
+ Their beds are hard and white.
+
+ The primrose and the scilla,
+ The merry crocus too--
+ O Jane! if we were flowers,
+ What should we children do?
+
+ We'd have to sleep all naked
+ Beneath the windy trees;
+ Yet we should die, I know it,
+ With even a chemise....
+
+
+
+
+Apples
+
+
+ Red cheeks, red cheeks,
+ Will you play with me?
+ No boy, pale boy,
+ I want to climb that tree.
+
+ Red cheeks, red cheeks,
+ You will tumble down--
+ No boy, pale boy,
+ I'll eat the apples brown.
+
+ Red cheeks, red cheeks,
+ Barns are best for rain--
+ No boy, pale boy,
+ I'll soon be down again.
+
+
+
+
+Lonely Children
+
+
+I
+
+ The trees are dusty in the Park,
+ The grass is hard and brown;
+ I'm glad I've got a Noah's ark,
+ But I'm sorry I'm in town.
+
+ A lot of little girls and boys
+ Are not so rich as me;
+ But O! I'd give them all my toys
+ For shells beside the sea....
+
+
+II
+
+ The flowers are happy in the garden,
+ For the bees are always there;
+ The clouds are happy up in Heaven
+ With the angels in the air;
+ But little boy and little mouse
+ Are rather lonely in the house.
+
+
+
+
+Playgrounds
+
+
+ In summer I am very glad
+ We children are so small,
+ For we can see a thousand things
+ That men can't see at all.
+
+ They don't know much about the moss
+ And all the stones they pass:
+ They never lie and play among
+ The forests in the grass:
+
+ They walk about a long way off;
+ And, when we're at the sea,
+ Let father stoop as best he can
+ He can't find things like me.
+
+ But, when the snow is on the ground
+ And all the puddles freeze,
+ I wish that I were very tall,
+ High up above the trees....
+
+
+
+
+Fairings
+
+
+ O, Father has donned his suit of brown
+ And saddled the gelding gray,
+ And he's ridden off to London town
+ Where the streets are fine and gay.
+
+ And Mother has asked for a yard of lace,
+ And Kate for a kerchief new,
+ And Moll for a mirror to look at her face,
+ And Bessie for beads, all blue;
+
+ And Dick has been promised a kite so tall,
+ And Jamie a leathern whip,
+ And Baby shall play with a painted ball,
+ And O! I have asked for a ship!--
+
+ But our eldest sister stood apart,
+ And I think I heard her say:
+ 'O bring me back a little white heart
+ Like the one I lost in May....'
+
+
+
+
+The Flower to the Bud
+
+
+ Tiny heart beneath my hand,
+ Say, what treasures will you hold?
+ O, what blossom will unfold,
+ Late to bloom, or soon to fade,
+ From this bud, my baby-maid?
+ Through what shallows will you wade,
+ To what heights will you aspire
+ In your spirit's white desire?
+ Will you mar or will you make?
+ Will you give or will you take?
+ Will you glow or will you break
+ With the running of the sand--
+ Tiny heart beneath my hand?...
+
+
+
+
+SIX SONGS OF GIRLHOOD
+
+
+
+
+Love and the Maidens
+
+
+ He seemed asleep; his wings were wet
+ With dew; he lay among the flowers,
+ Sweeter than Spring; his radiant curls
+ With primrose and with violet
+ Were crowned; and in a silent ring the girls
+ Watched, all an April morning's misty hours....
+
+ Not one dared wake him--yet each breast
+ Yearned to be pillow to a thing
+ So fair. 'How will he smile?' thought they,
+ 'In waking?...' But between them pressed
+ One who with laughter bore the rogue away,
+ Ere they had touched a feather of his wing.
+
+
+
+
+Awakenings
+
+
+ The first time she awoke,
+ Her room was filled with light;
+ Thought she: They've made a little fire
+ To warm me through the night....
+
+ The next time she awoke,
+ Sweet music stirred the air;
+ Thought she: They've brought a magic lyre
+ To make my dreams more fair....
+
+ The third time she awoke,
+ The dawn-swept sky was gray;
+ Thought she: I know my heart's desire
+ Will come to me to-day....
+
+ But empty was the street,
+ And ashen was the hearth;
+ And the music-maker's nimble feet
+ Were speeding o'er the earth.
+
+
+
+
+The Clouded Soul
+
+
+ O what have you done with your heart, daughter,
+ And what have you done to your soul, my dear?
+ Your heart was like a lily in June,
+ And your soul as a crystal clear....
+
+ O, I've thrown my heart in a well, mother,
+ For the lily was sick, and needed rain:
+ O, I've wept a cloud round my soul, mother,
+ And we never shall see it again....
+
+
+
+
+The Healer
+
+
+ O will you have my heart, sweet maid,
+ My heart so true, my heart so red?
+ O will you have my heart, dear maid,
+ And give me yours instead?
+
+ O keep your heart, my good young man,
+ For mine is wounded, deep and sore;
+ O keep your heart, my kind young man,
+ For mine shall love no more....
+
+
+
+
+The Open Door
+
+
+ Why have you locked the door, my maid,
+ Why have you locked the door?
+ O! I have let Grief out, she said,
+ Never to enter more.
+
+ Open and set it wide, my maid,
+ Open and set it wide!
+ Lest Joy should come one day, he said,
+ And have to stand outside.
+
+
+
+
+The Fugitive
+
+
+ When she returned to the clouded land,
+ She held sweet flowers in her hand;
+ Her eyes were bright
+ With a beaming light
+ That none could understand.
+
+ Said they: Where, sister, hast thou been?
+ What hidden glory hast thou seen?
+ What magic sod
+ Has thy white foot trod;
+ What song-filled groves of green?
+
+ Said she: I followed across the plain
+ To the gates of Love, to the gates of Pain:
+ By one, by two,
+ All the rest went through:
+ But I came back again....
+
+
+
+
+THE FAITHFUL WIFE
+
+
+
+
+The Faithful Wife
+
+
+ It was a banished chieftain
+ Returned from oversea,
+ And he saw his wife and children
+ Come smiling o'er the lea.
+
+ The moon had wrapped them in her beams,
+ The wind was in their hair,
+ Their feet that trod the wild bluebell
+ Were light as wings on air.
+
+ 'O have you come to meet me, wife,
+ As you once did swear to do?
+ Full seven years have I been gone,
+ And was your word so true?'
+
+ He took her by the white cool hand
+ Where the golden rings shone gay;
+ He took her youngest on his arm
+ And joyful led the way.
+
+ 'O fair are ye, my father's towers,
+ And sweet my garden dear:
+ God grant I never leave you more
+ Till Death o'ertake me here!'
+
+ The lights were burning in the hall,
+ As they sat them down to meat;
+ The pipers piped a merry tune
+ The while their lord did eat.
+
+ He looked to right, he looked to left,
+ And a happy man was he,
+ As he stroked the head of the good gre-hound
+ That stood beside his knee.
+
+ 'O, I am weary, wife, my wife,
+ And the flames begin to pale;
+ Lead on, for I would sleep awhile
+ Before I tell my tale.'
+
+ She lifted the bright curtain
+ That led into her bower;
+ There came the tramp of parting feet
+ And silence held the tower.
+
+ 'O wife, how long have I been gone?
+ The room smells of roses still--
+ O wife, our babes are very young,
+ Their limbs are cold and chill....'
+
+ She folded up their raiment small,
+ She smiled but said no word:
+ She laid her children in one bed,
+ Then came beside her lord.
+
+ He could not sleep, he could not wake,
+ But lay in silence there;
+ His dear wife held him by the hand,
+ He felt her wind-blown hair--
+
+ 'O Mother! Mother!' whispered one,
+ 'Why must we sleep so soon?
+ The sun is hidden down below,
+ I still can see the moon.'
+
+ 'Be quiet, be quiet, my little child,
+ And watch the moonbeams creep;
+ To-night you may not play about,
+ For your father lies asleep.'
+
+ 'O Mother! Mother!' whispered one,
+ 'It is not time for bed!
+ Where have you put my little lid?
+ I cannot hide my head.'
+
+ 'Lie still, lie still, my tiny child,
+ Your father dear is found:
+ We four shall never sleep again
+ In the dark and heavy mound.'
+
+ 'O Mother! Mother!' whispered one,
+ 'How shall that ever be?
+ We may not bide in the light of day
+ To watch upon the lea.'
+
+ 'No need, no need, my pretty child,
+ For your father dear has come;
+ We'll kiss him once, we'll kiss him twice,
+ Then seek our own far home.'
+
+ He heard them laugh with baby joy,
+ He felt their kisses sweet,
+ He heard the patter to the door
+ Of their unearthly feet....
+
+ He could not stir when she bent low
+ To kiss him on the lips--
+ He could not raise, to hold her fast,
+ His anguished finger-tips;
+
+ But his heart against her silent breast
+ Beat loud in wild despair--
+ He heard the swaying of her skirt,
+ And his soul leapt forth in prayer.
+
+ . . . . .
+
+ A shepherd rose to call his sheep
+ When the morning sky was gray;
+ The owl flew back to the ruined tower--
+ He led his flock that way.
+
+ And lo! amid the scattered stones
+ That the foe had strewn around,
+ He saw his long-lost chieftain lie
+ A corpse upon the ground.
+
+ A smile was on his breathless lips,
+ And he lay on the flowered sward,
+ Where his wife and babes had bled to death
+ Beneath a traitor's sword.
+
+
+
+
+WOMANHOOD
+
+
+
+
+A Woman to her Poet
+
+
+ In three worlds King art thou of my desire,
+ O thou of many crowns! whose brow, birth-bound
+ With light, wears wisdom's diadem. Thou lyre
+ Of the speechless soul, in silence triple-crowned!
+ My love's proud empire smiles to know thee King;
+ And in the realms of Womanhood I wind
+ A coronet of Faith, a blood-rose ring
+ With azure chain of sapphire intertwined;
+ And where the mind's pure kingdom is, I seek
+ Bright crystals, pearls of Truth divine and rare
+ To honour thee; but on the aerial peak
+ That marks the Soul's eternal region--there
+ Thou thronest Monarch of a world serene,
+ Crowned with the emerald's unfathomed green.
+
+
+
+
+The Infidel
+
+
+ My soul at times, outworn by length of woe,
+ A strange appeasement seeks in doubting thee,
+ And cries: My sacred mount's a thing as low
+ As any hillock; shallow rolls the sea
+ That should have quenched my deep unbounded thirst;
+ My star's a lamp that flickers earthly light;
+ Mere surf-worn glass my emerald; why burst,
+ O heart! for love of these?--Then, fullest night
+ Environs me, thou banished; stretching wide
+ My arms, I grope for refuge; all my pain
+ Cries babe-like for a breast whereon to hide,
+ And on to thine I fling myself again....
+ Thus fools, impatient of God's silence, cry:
+ There is no God!--and seek what they deny.
+
+
+
+
+Love Within Vows
+
+
+ We love, and O! we know it; yet Love's name
+ Upon our lips a tremulous wish must die;
+ We both were made for loving, you and I,
+ And still was Love denied. To both it came,
+ More fleeting than the beauty of a flame:
+ Now each within the other's hungering eye
+ Beholds the corse of Joy embalmed lie,
+ And smiles to know his penury the same.
+ There is no sorrow in this love, O Friend,
+ New-sprung from ruin, tho' our lips be sealed
+ By silence and the world's hard fetter. Dear
+ To me your being; yet we know nor fear
+ Of loss nor of possession; here's a shield
+ Shall part us nobly faithful to the end.
+
+
+
+
+The Exile
+
+
+ You too mistook me; for no man is wise
+ Whom Love enclouds. Nor soul-piercing nor keen
+ Your vision, else there never would have been
+ A cause for parting. Love-enwrapped, your eyes
+ Failed in my love Love's self to recognise:
+ You saw its outer garment, where the green
+ Of perfect faith was marred by passion's sheen,
+ By outworn patience and desire's disguise.
+ Had you but read me to the inner soul,
+ You would have held me fast. I can forego
+ All that is sought of hand and lip, the whole
+ Of Love's poor joy. But I have need to know
+ That, when the heart fails, I may come and rest
+ My head upon your wide and sheltering breast.
+
+
+
+
+The Scar Indelible
+
+
+ O your voice, your voice in the night!
+ How shall I wipe your voice from the night?
+ Only Hope could wipe it away--
+ And you have driven Hope away.
+
+ O your eyes, your eyes in my sight!
+ How shall I hide your eyes from my sight?
+ Only Joy could hide them away,
+ And you have driven Joy away.
+
+ O your name, your name in the light!
+ How shall I thrust your name from the light?
+ Only Love could thrust it away,
+ And you have driven Love away.
+
+
+
+
+Revulsion
+
+
+ My heart is weary of Love and Hate:
+ Too sick of its Love to love you still,
+ Too sick of its Hate to hate you yet--
+ My heart is weary and would forget.
+
+ O give me nothing! 'Tis far too late:
+ Your much were little my thirst to fill,
+ Your little were scorn of Faith so deep--
+ O give me nothing!--and let me sleep.
+
+
+
+
+The Captive
+
+
+ I want to take my heart away,
+ Break it away from the branch where it clings;
+ I want to quit the barren spray
+ Where now no throstle sings.
+
+ The butterflies have long since gone,
+ Gone to the bough where the gay blossoms are;
+ The sinking sun now bears the dawn
+ To other lands afar.
+
+ I want to break my heart away,
+ Tear it away from the bough where it grows;
+ O for the light of a free new day,
+ On the hill beyond the snows!
+
+
+
+
+Possession's Anguish
+
+
+ One tree in my garden, one tree
+ Out of all the forests of the world:
+ One little ship afloat upon the sea,
+ One shell beneath the waves, flawless and pearled:
+
+ One rose on my bower, one rose
+ For a day to scatter on the grass:
+ One shifting star agleam where the wind blows,
+ One gem upheld, that all may share who pass:
+
+ One heart to be ached for, one heart
+ Out of all the bosoms that are here:
+ One fragile hope alive, the starver's part,
+ One joy already faint and pale with fear:
+
+ One flame in the darkness, one flame
+ For the night to sever with a breath:
+ One poor faith fettered to a mortal name--
+ And over all, the beating wings of death....
+
+
+
+
+Treasures of Poverty
+
+
+ I sometimes watch the lips of other women
+ And think of all the kisses they have known;
+ I sometimes touch the hands of other women
+ In wonder at the memoried palms they own....
+
+ The kiss upon my brow was sadly given,
+ The hands I held but once were not my own;
+ And yet I would not change what I was given
+ For all the kisses I have never known....
+
+ Nor would I change again my heart's white desert;
+ O wondrous are the meetings I have known,
+ And strange the eyes that seek me in the desert,
+ Then smiling vanish to rejoin their own....
+
+
+
+
+Solitude
+
+
+ Now empty lies the house. The languid air
+ Unstirred by voices creeps from room to room;
+ No footstep falls upon the silent stair,
+ All's still and dark. In every nook the tomb
+ Of some thought lies; remembrance everywhere
+ Lingers to seek a joy no longer there;
+ And, as I sit here lonely in the gloom,
+ I ask myself which evil I would choose:
+ Never to have, or else to have, and lose.
+
+
+
+
+The Heart Asleep
+
+
+ Within me now my heart's asleep
+ And none shall wake it more;
+ The silence of all pain is deep
+ Within me. Now my heart's asleep,
+ It dreams of joys it might not keep;
+ And nothing looks before
+ Within me now. My heart's asleep
+ And none shall wake it more.
+
+
+
+
+Adversity
+
+
+ Black winds of the world!
+ There is pity in your breath,
+ Against wild tempest weaponing.
+
+ Grey clouds of the sky!
+ You are gentle in your shade,
+ Against night-darkness tempering.
+
+ Red wounds of the heart!
+ There is mercy in your blood,
+ Against hope-murder hardening.
+
+ Pale swoons of the soul!
+ You are tender in your pangs
+ Against dire death emboldening.
+
+
+
+
+Faces of the Dead
+
+
+ I dreamed that, wandering by a river's bank,
+ I came across a lonely ship that sank
+ In lifeless waters. Day was dim;--in dreams
+ We see nor sun, nor moon; unearthly gleams
+ Of deadened light fall strangely from the sky.--
+ There were but three that struggled not to die:
+ A man, a woman, and a tender child;
+ He sought to save them both with effort wild
+ And dragged his love to the entangled shore;
+ But down the slimy weeds she slid once more
+ Into the water, and her lover's breast
+ Received her, and together they found rest.
+ The child was saved; my hand towards her hand
+ Outstretched, drew all her sweetness to the land,
+ Where naked, like a lily wet with rain,
+ She sank and loudly wept at her life's gain.
+ Quite small she was, and light; I bore her fast
+ To what seemed home, and there she smiled at last
+ And sat upright within my arms; I found
+ A bright-hued veil wherein to wrap her round,
+ Tissues that far in morning-lands were spun
+ By those who love the flowers and the sun.
+ I laid her softly in a silken bed,
+ Strewed fragrant violets about her head
+ And left her.
+ 'Twas my dream then that I slept.
+ But when at dawn unto her bed I crept,
+ The child was lost. Her pillow was all wet
+ With tears that still flowed on; and faster yet
+ They flowed in quickening rills, until I thought
+ I stood beside a torrent wide that sought
+ An unknown sea. The day was sad, tho' young;
+ Upon a misty branch some bird had sung
+ And left a trembling silence; all around
+ I saw the little daisies on the ground
+ Fast closed, with folded arm-petals in vain
+ Shielding their yellow hearts from the cold rain.
+ --A voice invisible made murmur then:
+ 'Come here and look upon these poor drowned men!
+ The ship was sunk a year ago to-day....'
+ But I stepped back and shuddering turned away,
+ For I had never seen the face of Death.
+ Yet Fear itself soon drew me with quick breath
+ Back to the place, even to the river's brink
+ Where I had seen that lonely vessel sink.
+ And there in waters deep I saw them lie,
+ With hands at rest and eyes that sought the sky:
+ Clear eyes wide open to an unseen day.
+ In wondrous silence motionless they lay,
+ With white lips smiling on their spirit's bliss.
+ 'Is Death but this?' I cried, 'no more but this?'
+ And answer came: 'Among those faces there
+ Are all unknown?'
+ 'Twas then I saw him, fair
+ With perfect peace, my enemy, even he
+ Of all the world who most had tortured me.
+ He lay there, blessed among the blessed, and smiled
+ With eyes more pure than any wakening child.
+ The little waves in passing--like the breeze
+ That stirs the foliage of the unmoved trees--
+ Played in their hair, and fluttering grasses rose
+ And fell and danced about their mute repose.
+ But I gazed on until I too had drunk
+ Of their lips' joy, until their peace had sunk
+ Into my troubling earth-stirred heart that ached
+ To join them ... and then waked....
+
+
+
+
+The Sleeper
+
+
+ There lay a man on clovered ground
+ Whose life was death, he slept so sound;
+ A child bent low to watch his eyes--
+ He smiling waked, and saw the skies.
+
+ I know a soul now, fast asleep,
+ Whose dreams are sad: I hear him weep;
+ I bend and gaze for pity's sake--
+ But all in vain; he will not wake.
+
+
+
+
+Stars
+
+
+ O Kings and Queens, that in my happy heart,
+ As in a royal chapel, warm and white,
+ Ensanctuaried are! I come to-night
+ Beneath the moonless sky--this radiant chart
+ Of the unfathomable Heavens where dart
+ Beam-trailing stars--with lamp of love alight
+ Unto your images; my reverent sight
+ Enfolds you, and I bring you each your part
+ Of piety. The Will that guides each star
+ Gave jewels to my hands I might not hold,
+ Whose grace remembered fills my palm. So rest,
+ O Joy-givers! your kingdoms are afar,
+ Yet here I own you, shrined in pearls and gold,
+ The sovereign captives of my loyal breast.
+
+
+
+
+Trelawny's Grave
+
+
+ I know a garden near the gates of Rome
+ Where Life and Death hold hands in silence; here
+ In solemn shade where towering cypress rear
+ Their green eternal, white as wind-led foam
+ Lie scattered stones that shield the final home
+ Of exiles. Fair their bed; by violets dear
+ And swaying roses decked; above them, clear
+ In bluest glory arches Heaven's dome.
+ 'Twas here my heart encountered peace one day
+ Beside an old man's grave that said: If God
+ Condemn you live beyond your friend, this way
+ You too may rest.--The heart is childish; dread
+ Of earth-loss fades before Trelawny dead
+ Close-gathered to his Shelley in the sod.
+
+
+
+
+V.R.I.
+
+JANUARY 22, 1901.
+
+
+ As, in a house where solemn-footed Death
+ Has trodden, all the little children stand
+ Before a silent door, with quickened breath,
+ Holding each other tightly by the hand--
+
+ So we, O Mother! at the keyless door
+ Stand gathered, heart-astir with nameless fears:
+ A strength has left the hour; the world before
+ Was warmer; and we face the day with tears.
+
+
+
+
+Lines on a Picture by Mary Gow
+
+
+ O whirling World! I know a corner still
+ Unsoiled by Hate and Strife:
+ Where hushed and gentle is the voice of Life:
+ Where Time--a summer rill
+ Soft-flowing through the grass--in measure slow
+ Sings sweetly as we go.
+ Here is a room wherein the white day gleams:
+ Silence o'er Peace has spread her pearly wings:
+ A smiling woman reads of simple things:
+ A child's blue eyes are blinded by their dreams....
+
+
+
+
+To Serenity
+
+Before a Madonna--by Botticelli.
+
+
+ Thine is the face our driven souls shall wear,
+ O sweet serenity!--No earthly wind
+ Can rend thine azure mantle now, nor tear
+ Those veils that shield the radiant locks they bind.
+
+ Thy brow is calm with storm appeased; thy lids
+ Are heavy with the wisdom of all tears:
+ Thy mouth is strong with silence that forbids
+ Weary lament and craven wail of fears.
+
+ Within thy guarded bosom now no fire
+ Is ardent; thou hast hidden all thy scars:
+ We too may tread the ashes of desire,
+ And wing our spirits thus to touch the stars.
+
+
+
+
+ELEVEN SONNETS
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+
+ I will not close the door, O Love, on thee,
+ Although I fear thee still. In days of old
+ Thy magic echoes lured me on to be
+ The slave of dreams; but now that I behold
+ The earth again, and that my wings are gone,
+ I will take refuge, simply, on thy breast.
+ No miracle I seek, no rapturous dawn
+ Of an unearthly day; I will but rest
+ My weary eyes, and lay between thy hands
+ These empty fingers that have ceased to clutch
+ At stars. Because my spirit understands
+ Renouncement, thou wilt give, maybe. Not much
+ I ask of thee: I only ask to keep
+ Thee near, O Love! until my heart's asleep.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+
+ My Friend of Friends! in you my heart's at rest,
+ That wandered homeless as the ocean-wind
+ Hither and thither, seeking still to find
+ Some refuge. As a ship that east and west
+ Roams havenless, and quits each shore distressed,
+ So wandered I, so left each land behind,
+ Bearing my soul as helmsman, sage but blind;
+ And still we journeyed on at Fate's behest.
+ But now I hold my harbour, and the ship
+ Casts anchor here. The unnested winds that blow
+ May reach me still and rock me to and fro.
+ What matter? Here is Peace that bids me slip
+ Closer and closer to the enfolding shore,
+ Lower the sails, and stay for evermore.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+
+ Are we not happy? though this bond of ours
+ Be strange and out of harmony with life
+ As men accept it, in this world of strife
+ Between the spirit and the flesh?--Dark hours
+ Are in the doom of every love; no flowers
+ Bloom rainless; wind and war and pain are rife
+ Within us all.--Yet we are happy. Wife
+ Or sister, these are earth-words; the soul showers
+ Its gifts of love and seeks no earthly bond.
+ So ask we none but, smiling, soul to soul
+ Stand gathered in Love's very essence, whole
+ And indivisible. These white strong bands
+ Suffice; 'tis but the shell, too frail and fond,
+ That weeps, alas! and wrings her mortal hands.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+
+ Farewell! you cannot go from me, my dear,
+ For I have closed you in my inmost heart,
+ Beyond the reach of earthly things that part
+ The loving from the loved. Now far or near
+ Ceases to be; I am where you are; here
+ Or there, no matter. Mild should be the smart
+ Of leave-taking, where nothing stays apart
+ But what is mortal, and where souls are clear.
+ Beloved! I can but lose you earthly-wise;
+ The hunger of the years is stilled; no pain
+ Of solitude can chill my heart again,
+ Possessing you. Therefore with steadfast eyes
+ I say farewell, O brother! nor dare weep
+ My little loss, with all this wealth to keep.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+
+ I seek to call you near me in the dark
+ And silent prison of my solitude,
+ Where Memory with visions heaven-hued
+ Now mocks the night, and Hope with timid spark
+ Kindles vain torches. Lonely in my ark
+ Of Faith, on battling waves I float, pursued
+ By all those doubting monsters that delude
+ Pain-sunken breasts, and bid the soul embark
+ For perilous despair. I call you near
+ That I may cheat the helmsman of his fear:
+ And yet I know you far, I know you lost
+ To me, on this same ocean tempest-tossed
+ Alone--O you who should my pilot be!
+ You, whom my love could steer through any sea....
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+
+ When Spring awakens and no Spring is there,
+ None for the heart, it is a joyless thing.
+ Yet Winter softens, and all breezes bring
+ To the hard earth now tidings vague and fair.
+ The lilac buds are swelling, the mild air
+ Tempts forth the green; at dusk the thrushes sing
+ Out in the garden, and their raptures wring
+ The heart whose joy is of the past. I bear
+ Remembrance in me of dear foliage gone,
+ Of wilted heather and of perished flowers.
+ For me not one of Spring's foreshadowed hours
+ Is quick with presages of joy. Alone
+ Who cares to creep? The solitary ways
+ Are primrose-less, and vain the violet days.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+
+ If I must live without you, I must learn
+ To love the earth and all that grows once more,
+ With the old good love that satisfied before
+ I saw you smile. Now, let me turn and turn,
+ Your memory covers earth and sky; I yearn
+ For you, and not for Spring; my heart is sore
+ With absence, not with Winter's length. Of yore,
+ When climbing noons began to softly burn,
+ There seemed a tender joy in every bud
+ That swelled and burst, in every little spear
+ That broke the clods; and Spring sang in my blood
+ As in the sap; and all that lived was dear.
+ These treasures now are veiled and strange and far,
+ Whilst I go wandering where your footprints are.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+
+ Beloved! are we not wanderers on a road
+ Unknown, that grope their way among the rocks
+ Together?--Yes, together; for these shocks
+ Our hearts have borne and given, part not, goad
+ Unto no hatred. Though I be your load
+ Of care and you my anguish, something locks
+ Our hands, my brother: Destiny, that mocks
+ Man's thinkings, and here finds a new strange mode
+ Of welding chance-divided loves, a link
+ That's more than human, that is half divine,
+ Since, beggared of you, still I hold you mine
+ Above all bonds. So love me well. We'll drink
+ Of all pure streams together, dear, and break
+ These rocks to sand for one another's sake.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+
+ Yes, love me, love me well. You need not fear
+ To hurt me further. Like a careless knight
+ That riding lonely, with averted sight,
+ Has struck a passer unawares, so here
+ Have you struck me amid the branches sere
+ Of this dark forest. If you now alight,
+ Give water to my lips and through the night
+ Keep peril from me, with the morning's clear
+ New dawn I'll rise again, and both will reap
+ The mercy of the wound you dealt. Asleep,
+ Awake, I'll be your shield-bearer, and guard
+ Your steps upon this road so long and hard.
+ Then help us both, for all the love you give
+ But turns to strength whereby we both may live.
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+
+ Dearest of all, and nearest though most far!
+ My spirit follows you across both sea
+ And land; all bounds, all spaces, are to me
+ Erased; my heart upon its winged car
+ Of thought outstrips you; nothing now shall mar
+ My joy in you, O brother!--save that we
+ Are of the earth and ask to touch and see
+ The thing we love upon this yearning star.
+ O world of strange desires! Have not we two
+ Lived to behold each other and to smile?
+ Have our two notes not mingled in one chord?
+ What ails us? Were we joined this earthly while,
+ You would not love me better than you do,
+ Nor in my heart be otherwise adored.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+
+ Without, you seem forgotten. Am I sad
+ Or happy? None can tell. The lonely days
+ Recur, and draw me on the beaten ways
+ Of all who strive and toil. The things I had
+ Remain; all daily happenings, good or bad,
+ Fall as they did: success and loss, delays
+ That sweeten victory: the balance sways
+ Unceasingly, makes heavy, or makes glad.
+ And this is life, such as the world demands.
+ Within, 'tis otherwise; for in the far
+ Depths where my soul recoiled sits, there are
+ No echoes of such wisdom; there my hands
+ Are folded, and in yours: I seek your eyes,
+ Your voice, your smile.... Within, 'tis otherwise.
+
+
+
+
+THE OPEN AIR
+
+
+
+
+Sunshine in February
+
+
+ O winter Sun!
+ How beautiful thy beams
+ Upon the chained earth!
+ The snows are melting and the gale
+ Is hushed; thou shinest, soft and pale,
+ O Winter Sun!
+ Upon a world that dreams,
+ And trembles with awakened hopes of birth.
+
+ O Joyful Green!
+ 'Mid snowy patches gay
+ Thou peerest, and the sky
+ Shines blue through twigged boughs; each tree
+ Is aching now with thoughts of thee,
+ O Joyful Green!
+ Spring's heart is in the day
+ Though Winter's hands upon night's bosom lie.
+
+ _Fairseat._
+
+
+
+
+The Cuckoo
+
+
+ Sing, cuckoo, sing,
+ Dear herald of the Spring!
+ Minstrels in all ages born,
+ Hearing thee on such a morn--
+ When the cowslips all around
+ Waft their fragrance from the ground,
+ And the blossom of the pear
+ Quivers white in bluest air--
+ Such as I, in all the ages
+ Thus have covered rapturous pages
+ With thy praise, O loveliest bird
+ Ear of man has ever heard!
+
+ Though thy note be one of sadness,
+ Messenger thou art of gladness
+ Only; for thou comest first
+ When the buds their prison burst,
+ When, upon an April day,
+ Earth awakes to cast away
+ What remains of wintry sorrow,
+ And to don for summer's morrow
+ Joyful garb of newest green.
+ Spirit-like thou sing'st, unseen:
+ East and west thy piercing note
+ From the forest seems to float
+ Over plain and over hill,
+ And thy echoing cries instil
+ Hope into each breath that blows.
+ Who that hears thy voice but knows
+ That the joys of June are nearing?
+ See the lilies in the clearing,
+ How they raise their green young bells!
+ Every hasty bud that swells
+ Answers thee in joyfulness;
+ And the winter's long distress,
+ Like a lifted cloud at dawn,
+ Melts and quivers and is gone.
+ Autumn leaves that strew the ways
+ Have outlived their kindly days:
+ Now the sun shall warm the earth:
+ Now all things of tender birth,
+ Newly waked from shielded sleep,
+ Lift their coverlet and peep
+ Gaily at the world.
+
+ Dear Voice,
+ Sing! and bid each soul rejoice!
+ Spring's for every breast that wills;
+ And thy note, O Cuckoo, stills
+ All the ache of winter here.
+ Lo! the scattered leaves are sere
+ Of my sorrow; and I tread them
+ Into earth. The bough that shed them,
+ Soon in budded joy shall be
+ Harmonious with the day's felicity.
+
+ _Montmelian, April 1902._
+
+
+
+
+A Song in the Morning
+
+
+ O sister! 'tis day-time,
+ The world's happy May-time,
+ Come out to the woods where the new nests are!
+ 'Tis sin to be pining,
+ The hedge-drops are shining,
+ And the wild winds have fled to the snow-lands far.
+
+ O come! and be merry,
+ For white blows the cherry,
+ The bluebells ring out on their stem so tall:
+ Each cowslip's dear yellow
+ Cries joy to its fellow,
+ And the wind-flowers dance to the cuckoo's call.
+
+ O what is the sun for?
+ Come, grief is all done for,
+ The folded leaves creep from their beds in the bough:
+ The seeds are awaking,
+ The furrows are breaking,
+ And the blessing of God's on the blackthorn now.
+
+ _Meopham._
+
+
+
+
+In a London Square
+
+
+ The leaves are green, and in the grass
+ Lie daisy-patches, white and sweet,
+ That spring beneath the tender feet
+ Of baby-girls at play:
+ From ancient boughs, serenely tall,
+ The chequered shadows length'ning fall,
+ And town seems far away.
+ Such rest is here as woodland yields:
+ Here too are lambs in flowered fields--
+ Why heed the wheels that pass?
+
+ Thought sinks beneath our fitful speech
+ Into the tremor of our peace,
+ This hallowed hour of release
+ From dust and whirl and haste:
+ Thus each may find within his breast
+ A respite to the world's unrest,
+ Fresh verdure in the waste:
+ Life's wheels encircle us--but, there
+ Where Friendship is, the untainted air
+ Of Heaven seems in reach.
+
+
+
+
+The Call of the Green
+
+
+ O who would dwell in the dingy town
+ When June is fair and green?
+ O who would stay in the chimneyed town
+ Where brooks are never seen?
+ Come! roses blow: sweet flower
+ Will snow the virgin's-bower:
+ The shaded lane, the woodland wild,
+ Are better both for man and child.
+
+ O who would live in the narrow street
+ When skies are broad and free?
+ O who would bide in the stony street
+ When the sun is on the sea?
+ Come! leave the dust and hasten
+ To the breath of winds that chasten:
+ The surging waves, the starry span,
+ Are better both for child and man.
+
+ _Fairseat._
+
+
+
+
+Summer Ending
+
+
+ Over the world a breath
+ Has fallen as of Spring; the tender sky
+ Hangs tremulous, a shield through which the sun
+ Shines as the heart smiles in a mist of tears.
+ The trees are green still, but their branches bear
+ The blossoms of the fall; each quivering birch
+ Shakes golden coins upon her silver stem;
+ The little rowan rears his corals gay,
+ The purple sloes are thick upon the thorn,
+ And every breeze new-scatters to the ground
+ Spoils red and yellow. Here upon the hill
+ Where at our feet bee-haunted heather glows
+ Among the rocks, sweet peace enfolds us; see,
+ On velvet slopes afar the patient kine
+ In silence browse; the plough in furrows wide
+ Has turned the weary earth to rest; the sun
+ Sinks and, across the valley, mountains fade
+ From blue to grey and pearl-like touch the sky.
+ The hour of silver comes now, for the moon
+ Awakes and softly films the dusk with light;
+ The narrow river in her ample bed
+ Answers the stars, and soft serenity
+ Has spread her wings upon the earth....
+ O Heart
+ Of man!--why must you throb apart and know
+ A tempered Peace where Nature's Peace is pure?
+ Already winter's snows upon the hills
+ Like phantoms to our vision rise; the trees
+ Groan leafless in the wind, and ghosts of pain
+ Flit dark between the present and our eyes.
+ 'Tis thus we murder Joy, and let To-morrow,
+ A still-born Terror, anguish dear To-day:
+ 'Tis thus, possessing Wealth, we shiver poor
+ Ere we are stricken: thus our clasped hands
+ Grow cold and ache with Solitude to be....
+
+ _Kasna, September 1901._
+
+
+
+
+Near Autumn
+
+
+ Red apple in the leaves,
+ Red robin on the bough,
+ The oats are all in sheaves--
+ Where's summer now?
+
+ White foam along the sea,
+ White mist upon the dawn,
+ No flower for the bee--
+ 'Tis summer gone.
+
+ Black bird is silent, lone,
+ Black berry decks the spray;
+ And Autumn's breath has blown
+ Upon the day.
+
+ _Longueil._
+
+
+
+
+November
+
+
+ The grey clouds hide the sun now
+ And the leaves flow down with the rain:
+ The golden days are done now
+ And Winter looms again.
+
+ 'Tis bed-time for the seeds now
+ For the earth is weary of green:
+ She'll hide the very weeds now
+ Till nothing gay be seen.
+
+ Yet wait! it is not death now
+ That strips the meadow and grove:
+ The rose but holds her breath now
+ In the garden that we love:
+
+ 'Tis sleep--the earth must rest now.
+ O Winter's a wondrous thing!
+ For she hides within her breast now
+ The jocund heart of Spring.
+
+ _Fairseat._
+
+
+
+
+The Common Wealth
+
+
+ O voices of the sea and land,
+ How sweet upon my ear you fall!
+ The curlew's cry, the heron's call,
+ The grey gull's chatter on the strand,
+ The robin on the mossy wall,
+ The coal-tit almost at my hand--
+ How I thank Heaven for you all!
+
+ O wonder of the hills and sky,
+ How dear your beauty to my sight!
+ The wintry noon, the sea's delight,
+ The ruddy moorland far and high,
+ The pendant larch's silver white,
+ The golden wind-blown leaves that lie--
+ How I thank God for all this light!
+
+ _Rosneath._
+
+
+
+
+Edinburgh: Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SONGS OF WOMANHOOD***
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