All crying, "We will go with you, O Wind!" The foliage follow him, leaf and stem; But a sleep oppresses them as they go, And they end by bidding him stay with them. Since every they flung abroad in spring The leaves have promised themselves this flight, Who now would fain seek sheltering wall, Or thicket, or hollow place for the night. And now they answer the summoning blast With an ever vaguer and vaguer stir, Or at utmost a little reluctant whirl That drops them no further than where they were. I only hope that when I am free, As they are free, to go in quest Of the knowledge beyond the bounds of life It may not seem better to me to rest. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EXTRACTS FROM AN OPERA: 2. DAISY'S SONG by JOHN KEATS SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 42. 'GRECIAN AND ENGLISH' by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) THE FIRESIDE CHAIRS; HUSBAND TO WIFE by WILLIAM BARNES THE TRIUMPHS OF THY CONQUERING POWER by WILLIAM HILEY BATHURST |