I WALKED from our wild north country once, In a driving storm of snow; Forty and seven miles in a day -- You smile, -- do you think it slow? You would n't if ever you had ploughed Through a storm like that, I trow. There was n't a cloud as big as my hand, The summer before, in the sky; The grass in th' meadows was ground to dust, The springs and wells went dry; We must have corn, and three stout men Were picked to go and buy. Well, I was one; two bags I swung Across my shoulder, so! And kissed my wife and boys, -- their eyes Were blind to see me go. 'T was a bitter day, and just as th' sun Went down, we met the snow! At first we whistled and laughed and sung, Our blood so nimbly stirred; But as the snow-clogs dragged at our feet, And the air grew black and blurred, We walked together for miles and miles, And did not speak a word! I never saw a wilder storm: It blew and beat with a will; Beside me, like two men of sleet, Walked my two mates, until They fell asleep in their armor of ice, And both of them stood still. I knew that they were warm enough, And yet I could not bear To strip them of their cloaks; their eyes Were open and a-stare; And so I laid their hands across Their breasts, and left them there. And ran, -- O Lord, I cannot tell How fast! in my dismay I thought the fences and the trees -- The cattle, where they lay So black against their stacks of snow -- All swam the other way! And when at dawn I saw a hut, With smoke upcurling wide, I thought it must have been my mates That lived, and I that died; 'T was heaven to see through th' frosty panes The warm, red cheeks inside! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...KEATS; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE LOVER: A BALLAD by MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU EPIPHANIE CAROL by JOSEPH BEAUMONT PSALM 143 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE SHELTER by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. WHEN I LOOK UPON YOUR FACES by EDWARD CARPENTER |