Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE MEADOWS, by BAYARD TAYLOR


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE MEADOWS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I lie in the summer meadows
Last Line: But death is in the world!
Alternate Author Name(s): Taylor, James Bayard
Subject(s): Death; Fields; Life; Summer; Dead, The; Pastures; Meadows; Leas


I LIE in the summer meadows,
In the meadows all alone,
With the infinite sky above me,
And the sun on his midday throne.

The smell of the flowering grasses
Is sweeter than any rose,
And a million happy insects
Sing in the warm repose.

The mother lark that is brooding
Feels the sun on her wings,
And the deeps of the noonday glitter
With swarms of fairy things.

From the billowy green beneath me
To the fathomless blue above,
The creatures of God are happy
In the warmth of their summer love.

The infinite bliss of Nature
I feel in every vein;
The light and the life of Summer
Blossom in heart and brain.

But darker than any shadow
By thunder-clouds unfurled,
The awful truth arises,
That Death is in the world!

And the sky may beam as ever,
And never a cloud be curled;
And the airs be living odors,
But Death is in the world!

Out of the deeps of sunshine
The invisible bolt is hurled:
There's life in the summer meadows,
But Death is in the world!





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