Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLADE OF FAREWELL, by WILLIAM BRIAN HOOKER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLADE OF FAREWELL, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: New roads to fare, new toils to overthrow
Last Line: And bid at last a long farewell to all.
Alternate Author Name(s): Hooker, Brian
Subject(s): Farewell; Parting


New roads to fare, new toils to overthrow,
New fields, made rich with fern and floweret,
And beckoning seas where brave winds merrily blow
Over the sun-bright waves of dawn -- and yet,
Never one sun rose but another set....
Wherefore, beseech you, count me not as they
Who shun the venture and avoid the fray,
Though I should pause within the empty hall,
By the old hearth bow down to dream and pray,
And bid at last a long farewell to all.

Dim elms deepen the summer gloom below,
Tangling the drowsy breeze in a soft net
Of slowly waving leaves; an amber glow
Streams out of many windows, over wet
Green grass, gray tower, and vine-hung parapet;
And careless gusts of song start up, and stray
Among the shadows; the city's distant bray
Softens; and happy voices clash and call
One to another, as I turn away,
And bid at last a long farewell to all.

Youth, and high hearts welcoming friend and foe,
Careless of fear or failure; the clear jet
And rainbow-spray of joyance; and the flow
Of easy slumber to a morning met
Blithely, fresh-eyed; madrigal, canzonet,
Drink with glad boys and dance with maidens gay,
Scorn of such laws as weaker souls obey --
Carouse, adventure, dalliance, tryst, and brawl --
Must we disown the sweetness of their sway,
And bid at last a long farewell to all?

These things are ebbing from us: and although
It is more wise to frolic than to fret,
Good to strew garlands on the grave of woe,
Good to drink deep of laughter, and forget
Weariness, and chill twilights, and the debt
Inexorable that even we must pay
Who in the House of Life rejoice to stay --
Nevertheless, we find the banquets pall,
See the leaves wither, and the lights turn gray,
And bid at last a long farewell to all.

Wherefore, with half my days foregone, I go
Now to begin true labour. I regret
Only the song unborn, the unbent bow
Whose quarry leaps unscathed. Nor dare I let
My heart shrink from the turmoil and the sweat;
For even already have I seen decay
The glamour and dew-freshness of the May,
And felt a weary body faint and fall,
Remembering how I must fear delay,
And bid at last a long farewell to all.

ENVOI

Princes of Mirth! Let no power disarray
The pageants and fair trappings of our play,
Until we turn our faces to the wall,
Smile down the glimmering slopes of yesterday,
And bid at last a long farewell to all.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net