Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OLD MEADOW SPRING, by JOHN TROTWOOD MOORE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD MEADOW SPRING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Down through the red-top blooming in the / sun
Last Line: And be a boy at the meadow spring.
Subject(s): Spring; Water


DOWN through the red-top blooming in the sun,
On to the vine-covered trees,
A barefoot boy through the path I'd run
Like a swallow on the evening breeze.
Quick to the big rocks cropping from the ground
'Neath the trees where the sweet birds sing,
With a leap and a bound I'd clamber down
To drink at the meadow spring.

O, the old meadow spring,
To its moss-grown banks I'd cling,
And with hat for a gourd I would quaff like a lord
The cool, sparkling waters of the spring.
Pouring from the rocks 'mid pebbles so white,
And fringing the moss with pearl,
Then speeding away in flashes of light
To the pool with its eddying whirl.
The wild mint wafts its odor from below
On the sweep of the cool wind's wing,
While the dark shining row of the blackberries grow
On the brink of the meadow spring.

O, the old meadow spring,
Heaven's drink to man you bring,
With the mint and the red of the purpling berry head
All mirror'd in the depths of the spring.

Stretched on the green grass, musing in the shade
(To the drip—tinkle—drip, of the stream),
I wonder if above such a spot was made
For spirits in their heavenly dream.
Watching the water-witch dancing about
On the waves in her silvery ring,
With a laugh and shout I'd put her to rout
And plunge in the meadow spring.

O, the old meadow spring,
How I long once more to fling
All my burdens aside in your silvery tide,
And be a boy at the meadow spring.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


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