Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VOLUNTARY, by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VOLUNTARY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Here in the quiet eve
Last Line: The hostel door.
Alternate Author Name(s): Stevenson, Robert Lewis Balfour
Subject(s): Forests; Night; Rest; Woods; Bedtime


HERE in the quiet eve
My thankful eyes receive
The quiet light.
I see the trees stand fair
Against the faded air,
And star by star prepare
The perfect night.

And in my bosom, lo!
Content and quiet grow
Toward perfect peace.
And now when day is done,
Brief day of wind and sun,
The pure stars, one by one,
Their troop increase.

Keen pleasure and keen grief
Give place to great relief:
Farewell my tears!
Still sounds toward me float;
I hear the bird's small note,
Sheep from the far sheepcote
And lowing steers.

For lo! the war is done,
Lo, now the battle won,
The trumpets still.
The shepherd's slender strain,
The country sounds again
Awake in wood and plain,
On haugh and hill.

Loud wars and loud loves cease.
I welcome my release;
And hail once more
Free foot and way world-wide
And oft at eventide
Light love to talk beside
The hostel door.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net