Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO L.C.P., by JOHN COWPER POWYS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO L.C.P., by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: From the slow-moving shadows on the grass
Last Line: From the sad eyes of dark mnemosyne.
Subject(s): Dreams; Eyes; Heaven; Life; Nature; Youth; Nightmares; Paradise


From the slow-moving shadows on the grass
I lift my eyes to think awhile of thee,
Letting the lazy sunlit moments pass
Like a deep river mingling with the sea.

Above my head the heavy chestnut bloom
Waves in the waving of the fitful wind,
While the great leaves, in glimmer and in gloom
Shed down a holy influence on the mind.

On such a morn as this the spirit knows
A kinship deep with all that breathes and lives;
On such a morn the smallest weed that grows
A spiritual revelation gives.

Ah! not one life in Nature's vast domain
But on all others hath a power profound,
An influence sacred as the silent rain
That falls from Heaven to consecrate the ground.

So, as I summon up thine image, friend,
The thought of thee is linked with trees and flowers,
And other rivers with the vision blend,
Than this slow-winding Sussex Ouse of ours.

Once more I see the stream we loved of yore,
The wooden bridge, the bank, the ancient boat,
Once more the reedy pastures and once more
The shallows where the water lilies float.

O youthful days, when all the world did seem
A garden of delight! O youthful days,
Come back once more, tho' only in a dream,
Come back and smooth for us life's tedious ways.

For us? But thou -- thou hast no need of dreams,
Life's cup for thee brims full with youthful glee;
Thou hast no need to snatch the passing gleams
From the sad eyes of dark Mnemosyne.





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