Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A GRACE BEFORE SHAKESPEARE, by GEORGE HERBERT CLARKE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A GRACE BEFORE SHAKESPEARE, by                    
First Line: Weary and wishful of the woods, we hear
Last Line: Always thyself abideth, calm and strong!
Subject(s): Death; Dramatists; Fate; Life; Love; Plays & Playwrights ; Poetry & Poets; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Dead, The; Destiny; Dramatists


WEARY and wishful of the woods, we hear
The whispers of the leaves of Arden stealing
Down the dull ways of sense with "Better cheer!"
Or strain to catch a sweet and tiny pealing—
The elfin bells of Puck and all his line,
And watch the lights of springtide clearer growing,
And smell the violet and the eglantine,
In love with Love, and fun and frolic flowing.
Darken our day-dreams, and the air strikes chill,
And shadows huge and formless go a-glooming,
And moments are when Life and Death stand still
Before Lord Fate's inexorable dooming;–
Shakespeare, or murmuring night or morning song,
Always thyself abideth, calm and strong!





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