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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CRISP OF THE DAY by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS

First Line: SCARCE TOUCHING EARTH, THE LIVELY SWEEP OF AIR
Last Line: THE STURDY, VITAL DAYS ARE ALL LIKE THIS.

Scarce touching earth, the lively sweep of air
Lifts me and draws me forth into the fields.
Why, what a merry wand the morning wields,
Dimpling the world to laughter everywhere!
Fresh from her darkling still, a cordial rare
The generous outpouring ether yields;
See how the careful woodland softly shields
From such excess the ferns that nestle there!
The cool, sweet calm rebukes the noise of men;
The common happiness, their partial bliss;
There's not a tree in yonder radiant glen,
No, not a leaf, that dreams of aught amiss.
I think in heaven, from dawn till dawn again,
The sturdy, vital days are all like this.



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