Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE GLEANER, by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: That happy gleam of vernal eyes Last Line: That asks for daily bread. Variant Title(s): The Country Girl Subject(s): Engraving And Engravers; Holmes, James (1777-1860) | ||||||||
THAT happy gleam of vernal eyes, Those locks from summer's golden skies, That o'er thy brow are shed; That cheek -- a kindling of the morn, That lip -- a rose-bud from the thorn, I saw; and Fancy sped To scenes Arcadian, whispering, through soft air, Of bliss that grows without a care, And happiness that never flies -- (How can it where love never dies?) Whispering of promise, where no blight Can reach the innocent delight; Where pity, to the mind conveyed In pleasure, is the darkest shade That Time, unwrinkled grandsire, flings From his smoothly gliding wings. What mortal form, what earthly face Inspired the pencil, lines to trace, And mingle colours, that should breed Such rapture, nor want power to feed; For had thy charge been idle flowers, Fair Damsel! o'er my captive mind, To truth and sober reason blind, 'Mid that soft air, those long-lost bowers, The sweet illusion might have hung, for hours. Thanks to this tell-tale sheaf of corn, That touchingly bespeaks thee born Life's daily tasks with them to share Who, whether from their lowly bed They rise, or rest the weary head, Ponder the blessing they entreat From Heaven, and 'feel' what they repeat, While they give utterance to the prayer That asks for daily bread. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A JEWISH FAMILY; IN A SMALL VALLEY OPPOSITE ST. GOAR by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ADMONITION [TO A TRAVELLER] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AN APRIL MORNING by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ANECDOTE FOR FATHERS by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ANIMAL TRANQUILITY AND DECAY; A SKETCH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AT FLORENCE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AT THE GRAVE OF BURNS; SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH BUONAPARTE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH COMPOSED AT NEIDPATH CASTLE, 1803 by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE NEAR CALAIS [AUGUST 1802] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |
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