HAST thou been in the woods with the honey-bee? Hast thou been with the lamb in the pastures free? With the hare through the copses and dingles wild? With the butterfly over the heath, fair child? Yes! the light fall of thy bounding feet Hath not startled the wren from her mossy seat: Yet hast thou ranged the green forest-dells, And brought back a treasure of buds and bells. Thou know'st not the sweetness, by antique song Breathed o'er the names of that flowery throng: The woodbine, the primrose, the violet dim, The lily that gleams by the fountain's brim; These are old words, that have made each grove A dreaming haunt for romance and love -- Each sunny bank, where faint odours lie, A place for the gushings of poesy. Thou know'st not the light wherewith fairy lore Sprinkles the turf and the daisies o'er: Enough for thee are the dews that sleep Like hidden gems in the flower-urns deep; Enough the rich crimson spots that dwell Midst the gold of the cowslip's perfumed cell; And the scent by the blossoming sweetbriers shed, And the beauty that bows the wood-hyacinth's head. O happy child! in thy fawn-like glee, What is remembrance or thought to thee? Fill thy bright locks with those gifts of spring, O'er thy green pathway their colours fling; Bind them in chaplet and wild festoon -- What if to droop and to perish soon? Nature hath mines of such wealth -- and thou Never wilt prize its delights as now! For a day is coming to quell the tone That rings in thy laughter, thou joyous one! And to dim thy brow with a touch of care, Under the gloss of its clustering hair; And to tame the flash of thy cloudless eyes Into the stillness of autumn skies; And to teach thee that grief hath her needful part Midst the hidden things of each human heart. Yet shall we mourn, gentle child! for this? Life hath enough of yet holier bliss! Such be thy portion! -- the bliss to look, With a reverent spirit, through nature's book; By fount, by forest, by river's line, To track the paths of a love divine; To read its deep meanings -- to see and heat God in earth's garden -- and not to fear! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WINDFLOWER LEAF by CARL SANDBURG THE PRISONER OF CHILLON: INTRODUCTORY SONNET by GEORGE GORDON BYRON HENRY WARD BEECHER by CHARLES HENRY PHELPS WINTER RAIN by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI |