THOU art the joy of age:
Thy sun is dear when long the shadow falls.
Forth to its friendliness the old man crawls,
And, like the bird hung in his poor cage
To gather song from radiance, in his chair
Sits by the door; and sitteth there
His soul within him, like a child that lies
Half dreaming, with half-open eyes,
At close of a...
-
-
SAY, from what golden quivers of the sky
Do all thy wingèd arrows fly?
Swiftness and Power by birth are thine:
From thy great sire they came, thy sire, the Word Divine.Thou in the Moon’s bright chariot, proud and gay,
Dost thy bright wood of stars survey;
And all the year dost with thee bring
Of thousand... -
I Have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.You have been mine before,—
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow’s soar
Your neck turned so,
Some veil did fall,—I... -
[October 25, 1854]
HALF a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said;
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the... -
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.Ye fearful, fresh courage take!
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big... -
As from the earth the light Balloon
Asks nothing but release —
Ascension that for which it was,
Its soaring Residence.
The spirit looks upon the Dust
That fastened it so long
With indignation,
As a Bird
Defrauded of its song. -
By a departing light
We see acuter, quite,
Than by a wick that stays.
There's something in the flight
That clarifies the sight
And decks the rays. -
Image of Light, Adieu —
Thanks for the interview —
So long — so short —
Preceptor of the whole —
Coeval Cardinal —
Impart — Depart — -
In thy long Paradise of Light
No moment will there be
When I shall long for Earthly Play
And mortal Company — -
It's like the Light —
A fashionless Delight —
It's like the Bee —
A dateless — Melody —
It's like the Woods —
Private — Like the Breeze —
Phraseless — yet it stirs
The proudest Trees —
It's like the Morning —
Best — when it's done —
And the...