AN English lad, who, reading in a book, A ponderous, leathern thing set on his knee, Saw the broad violet of the Egean Sea Lap at his feet as it were village brook. Wide was the east; the gusts of morning shook; Immortal laughter beat along that shore; Pan, crouching in the reeds, piped as of yore; The gods came down and thundered from that book. He lifted his sad eyes; his London street Swarmed in the sun, and strove to make him heed; Boys spun their tops, shouting and fair of cheek: But, still, that violet lapping at his feet, -- An English lad had he sat down to read; But he rose up and knew himself a Greek. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HYBRIDS OF WAR: A MORALITY POEM: 1. VIETNAM by KAREN SWENSON THE BELLS OF SAN BLAS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE BURNING BABE by ROBERT SOUTHWELL CHILDREN OF LIGHT by BERNARD BARTON WRITTEN IN AN ALBUM by BERNARD BARTON AFTER-SIGHT by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |