Classic Poem

W HENE'ER I pause in green of summer lane —
Perchance, as now, at evening — nothing more
I ask or need. I see the pale blue sky
Dissolved in dream by melody of larks,
And — all transfigured in the waning light —
Far winds the path before me. If an elm
Above the hedge should rise, in the soft warm air
Its lightest branches scarcely seem to move,
And on the soothing green of either bank
The sight rests thankful. There the starwort shines,
The rabbit-parsley spreads its graceful sprays,
The modest musk amidst the grass conceals
A golden head.
When in some mead I stand,
Enring'd by clover scent, a stream mayhap
Winds by, with willows on the banks thereof
And may-trees all in blossom. Then I see,
Amidst its ancient elms, some ancient church
Facing the bright West with embattled tower
And red-tiled roof all glowing. O'er the stream
I lean to watch the dancing swarm of gnats,
And hear far off upon the broad high-road
The beat of horses' hoofs, or sounding horn
Before some thatch'd, old-fashion'd wayside inn;
And then so long as any bird will sing —
One sings all day — no more I ask than this.

But when from some strait road — as here to-night —
Forth on the lonely sea, with eager steps,
Alone I issue, when I stand thereby,
And feel the gentle winnowing of wings
About me — the soft South-wind's dove-like wings;
When all the wide expanse of crinkled sea
Expands before me — there no sail in sight,
With faces ruddy in the glare of evening
Forth come the shrimpers with their shoulder'd nets
To dredge the shallows — then my heart no more
Can rest contented. Suddenly reveal'd,
I see the vastness of the world and man,
The ample scope of life; my nature longs
For some broad sphere of action, speech and thought,
And, " Seek it, seek it now, " calls the Sea's voice.