Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DOWN-HILL ON A BICYCLE, by LOUIS UNTERMEYER



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DOWN-HILL ON A BICYCLE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The rolling earth stops
Last Line: God, that were life!
Alternate Author Name(s): Lewis, Michael
Subject(s): Climbing; Earth; Life; World


THE rolling earth stops
As I climb to the summit,
Then like a plummet
It suddenly drops...

Down, down I go—
Past rippling acres;
Hillsides like breakers
Over me flow.

Wildly alive
I hail the green shimmer,
Fresh as a swimmer
After the dive.

Like banners unfurled
The skies dip and flourish—
The keen breezes nourish,
While the bright world

Is a ribbon unrolled
With a border of grasses;
And tansies are masses
And splotches of gold.

Still I whirl on—
Startled, a sparrow
Darts from the yarrow,
Flash—and is gone...

Faster the gleams
Die as they dazzle—
And roadsides of basil
Turn to pink streams.

Sharp as a knife
Is each perfume and color...
To feel nothing duller—
God, that were Life!





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