I HAD no heart to march for war When trees were bare and fell the snow; To go to-day is easier far When pink and white the orchards blow, While cuckoo calls and from the lilac bush Carols at peace the well-contented thrush. For now the gorse is all in flower, The chestnut tapers light the morn, Gold gleam the oaks, the sun has power To robe the glittering plain with corn; I hear from all the land of hope a voice That bids me forward bravely and rejoice. So merry are the lambs at play, So cheerfully the cattle feed, With such security the May Has built green walls round every mead, O'er happy roofs such grey old church-towers peep, Who would not fight these dear, dear homes to keep? For hawthorn wreath, for bluebell glade, For miles of buttercup that shine, For song of birds in sun and shade That fortify this soul of mine, For all May joy beneath an English sky, How sweet to live—how glad and good to die! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FEW RULES FOR BEGINNERS by KATHERINE MANSFIELD THE NEW APOCRYPHA: THE FIG TREE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE SICK ROSE, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE SONGS FOR MY MOTHER: 2. HER HANDS by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH THE PILGRIM [SONG], FR. THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS by JOHN BUNYAN |