Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CRICKET BAT SINGS, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CRICKET BAT SINGS, by                    
First Line: "willow and cane is all I am, with a wisp of waxen thread"
Last Line: "willow and cane is all I am, yet look at the hosts I sway"
Subject(s): Country Life;cricket (game);sports


WILLOW and cane is all I am, with a wisp of waxen thread,
Cane and willow, willow and cane, fondly, perfectly wed;
But never wood for a bounding yacht was picked with a nicer thought,
And nothing planned by human hand ever was deftlier wrought.
Willow and cane is all I am; but here is a wondrous thing:
Willow and cane is all I am, yet also am I a king!
The flower of the earth my subjects are, and the throne of the cricket bat
Is the rich, green turf of a level mead, and who has a throne like that?

A century old is the crown I hold; nothing disturbs my reign;
And men to me will bend the knee while centuries more shall wane;
The Sword is great, but he rules by hate, rules with a bloody hand:
Honesty, peace, and comradeship are features of my command!
Scour the earth and you shall not find the like of the power I wield,
For the home of the brave, the strong, the free, is the elm-girt cricket-field;
Both man and boy they thrill with joy to speed the ball away—
Willow and cane is all I am, yet look at the hosts I away!





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