The lanes are green; the skies, bedight With puffs of fleecy clouds, are bright; All else, asleep -- you'd almost guess -- In deep midsummer leafiness. But ah, the twinkling poplar-spray! A little breeze has found its way Under the beech and cherry tree, Penetrating busily, Muttering as it passed the dell To every fern: "Awake, farewell!" They stir, they flutter, shift and search Like maiden dames that doze in church; Fan themselves and blink again, While the parson drones, Amen; Then the summery sleep descends Half-way before the sermon ends. Another gust: the gossip leaves, Roused by the rustle of the sheaves In neighbor corn-fields, catch the news And waft each other fond adieux. Oh, a joyous scene is then Acted in every little glen; For the branches toss their tresses In good-byes that are caresses: -- Farewell, sisters, we have known Secrets to the world unshown, Friendships, follies all our own; All day long such merry meetings, With our eager whispered greetings; Sober talks, amusing chatter, Scandal sweet, and idle patter On some dear delicious matter; Starry nights when we have stood Bathed in a beatitude By the still, celestial mirth Of the silent midnight earth; Fleeting dreamlands when the moon Swam like a dolphin in a swoon O'er the mist-encumbered meadows Chasing the affrighted shadows, And the daylight came too soon. We have lived and counted gain Shower and sunshine, mist or rain, Loved and lived and loved again. Thus the leaves in every dell Bend and nod and bid farewell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BALLAD OF THE GIBBET by FRANCOIS VILLON THE VOICE OF THE ANCIENT BARD, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE A COURT LADY by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE NEW TIMON AND THE POETS by ALFRED TENNYSON LAUTERBRUNNEN by THOMAS GOLD APPLETON |