Nature and Elements

Night Song

WHEN on thy pillow lying,

Half listen, I implore,
And at my lute's soft sighing,
Sleep on! what wouldst thou more?
For at my lute's soft sighing
The stars their blessings pour


On feelings never-dying;
Sleep on! what wouldst thou more?
Those feelings never-dying
My spirit aid to soar


From earthly conflicts trying;
Sleep on! what wouldst thou more?
From earthly conflicts trying
Thou driv'st me to this shore;


Through thee I'm thither flying,--
Sleep on! what wouldst thou more?
Through thee I'm hither flying,
Thou wilt not list before


In slumbers thou art lying:
Sleep on! what wouldst thou more?

May


LIGHT and silv'ry cloudlets hover

In the air, as yet scarce warm;
Mild, with glimmer soft tinged over,
Peeps the sun through fragrant balm.


Gently rolls and heaves the ocean


As its waves the bank o'erflow.
And with ever restless motion
Moves the verdure to and fro,
Mirror'd brightly far below.
What is now the foliage moving?
Air is still, and hush'd the breeze,


Sultriness, this fullness loving,


Through the thicket, from the trees.
Now the eye at once gleams brightly,
See! the infant band with mirth


Moves and dances nimbly, lightly,
As the morning gave it birth,
Flutt'ring two and two o'er earth.

May Song II

BETWEEN wheatfield and corn,
Between hedgerow and thorn,
Between pasture and tree,
Where's my sweetheart
Tell it me!


Sweetheart caught I


Not at home;
She's then, thought I.


Gone to roam.
Fair and loving


Blooms sweet May;
Sweetheart's roving,


Free and gay.


By the rock near the wave,
Where her first kiss she gave,
On the greensward, to me,--
Something I see!
Is it she?

Longing


WHAT pulls at my heart so?

What tells me to roam?
What drags me and lures me
From chamber and home?


How round the cliffs gather


The clouds high in air!
I fain would go thither,
I fain would be there!
The sociable flight
Of the ravens comes back;


I mingle amongst them,


And follow their track.
Round wall and round mountain
Together we fly;


She tarries below there,
I after her spy.
Then onward she wanders,
My flight I wing soon


To the wood fill'd with bushes,


A bird of sweet tune.
She tarries and hearkens,
And smiling, thinks she:


"How sweetly he's singing!
He's singing to me!"
The heights are illum'd
By the fast setting sun;


The pensive fair maiden


Looks thoughtfully on;
She roams by the streamlet,
O'er meadows she goes,


And darker and darker
The pathway fast grows.



I rise on a sudden,


A glimmering star;
"What glitters above me,
So near and so far?"
And when thou with wonder
Hast gazed on the light,


I fall down before thee,
Entranced by thy sight!

Like And Like

A FAIR bell-flower

Sprang tip from the ground;
And early its fragrance
It shed all around;


A bee came thither


And sipp'd from its bell;
That they for each other
Were made, we see well.

Like And Like

A FAIR bell-flower

Sprang tip from the ground;
And early its fragrance
It shed all around;


A bee came thither


And sipp'd from its bell;
That they for each other
Were made, we see well.

Legend


THERE lived in the desert a holy man

To whom a goat-footed Faun one day
Paid a visit, and thus began


To his surprise: 'I entreat thee to pray
That grace to me and my friends may be given,
That we may be able to mount to Heaven,
For great is our thirst for heav'nly bliss.'
The holy man made answer to this:
'Much danger is lurking in thy petition,
Nor will it be easy to gain admission;
Thou dost not come with an angel's salute;
For I see thou wearest a cloven foot.'
The wild man paused, and then answer'd he:
'What doth my goat's foot matter to thee?
Full many I've known into heaven to pass
Straight and with ease, with the head of an ass!'

Gipsy Song

IN the drizzling mist, with the snow high-pil'd,
In the Winter night, in the forest wild,
I heard the wolves with their ravenous howl,
I heard the screaming note of the owl:


Wille wau wau wau!
Wille wo wo wo!
Wito hu!
I shot, one day, a cat in a ditch--
The dear black cat of Anna the witch;
Upon me, at night, seven were-wolves came down,
Seven women they were, from out of the town.
Wille wau wau wau!
Wille wo wo wo!
Wito hu!
I knew them all; ay, I knew them straight;
First, Anna, then Ursula, Eve, and Kate,
And Barbara, Lizzy, and Bet as well;
And forming a ring, they began to yell:
Wille wau wau wau!
Wille wo wo wo!
Wito hu!
Then call'd I their names with angry threat:
"What wouldst thou, Anna? What wouldst thou, Bet?"
At hearing my voice, themselves they shook,
And howling and yelling, to flight they took.
Wille wau wau wau!
Wille wo wo wo!
Wito hu!

From Faust - II. Prologue In Heaven

THE ARCHANGELS' SONG.
RAPHAEL.
THE sun still chaunts, as in old time,
With brother-spheres in choral song,


And with his thunder-march sublime


Moves his predestined course along.
Strength find the angels in his sight,
Though he by none may fathomed be;

Still glorious is each work of might
As when first form'd in majesty.
GABRIEL.
And swift and swift, in wondrous guise,
Revolves the earth in splendour bright,


The radiant hues of Paradise


Alternating with deepest night.
From out the gulf against the rock,
In spreading billows foams the ocean,--


And cliff and sea with mighty shock,
The spheres whirl round in endless motion.
MICHAEL.
And storms in emulation growl
From land to sea, from sea to land,


And fashion, as they wildly howl,


A circling, wonder-working band.
Destructive flames in mad career
Precede Thy thunders on their way;

Yet, Lord, Thy messengers revere
The soft mutations of Thy day.
THE THREE.
Strength find the angels in Thy sight,
Though none may hope to fathom Thee;



Still glorious are Thy works of might,
As when first form'd in majesty.

From Faust - II. Prologue In Heaven

THE ARCHANGELS' SONG.
RAPHAEL.
THE sun still chaunts, as in old time,
With brother-spheres in choral song,


And with his thunder-march sublime


Moves his predestined course along.
Strength find the angels in his sight,
Though he by none may fathomed be;

Still glorious is each work of might
As when first form'd in majesty.
GABRIEL.
And swift and swift, in wondrous guise,
Revolves the earth in splendour bright,


The radiant hues of Paradise


Alternating with deepest night.
From out the gulf against the rock,
In spreading billows foams the ocean,--


And cliff and sea with mighty shock,
The spheres whirl round in endless motion.
MICHAEL.
And storms in emulation growl
From land to sea, from sea to land,


And fashion, as they wildly howl,


A circling, wonder-working band.
Destructive flames in mad career
Precede Thy thunders on their way;

Yet, Lord, Thy messengers revere
The soft mutations of Thy day.
THE THREE.
Strength find the angels in Thy sight,
Though none may hope to fathom Thee;



Still glorious are Thy works of might,
As when first form'd in majesty.

From Faust - IV. Chorus Of Spirits

VANISH, dark clouds on high,

Offspring of night!
Let a more radiant beam
Through the blue ether gleam,


Charming the sight!
Would the dark clouds on high


Melt into air!
Stars glimmer tenderly,


Planets more fair


Shed their soft light.
Spirits of heav'nly birth,
Fairer than sons of earth,
Quivering emotions true


Hover above;
Yearning affections, too,


In their train move.
See how the spirit-band,
By the soft breezes fann'd,
Covers the smiling land,--
Covers the leafy grove,
Where happy lovers rove,
Deep in a dream of love,
True love that never dies!
Bowers on bowers rise,


Soft tendrils twine;
While from the press escapes,
Born of the juicy grapes,


Foaming, the wine;
And as the current flows
O'er the bright stones it goes,--
Leaving the hilly lands


Far, far behind,--
Into a sea expands,


Loving to wind
Round the green mountain's base;
And the glad-winged race,


Rapture sip in,
As they the sunny light,
And the fair islands bright,



Hasten to win,
That on the billows play
With sweet deceptive ray,
Where in glad choral song
Shout the exulting throng;
Where on the verdant plain


Dancers we see,
Spreading themselves amain


Over the lea.
Some boldly climbing are


O'er the steep brake,
Others are floating far


O'er the smooth lake.
All for a purpose move,


All with life teem,
While the sweet stars above


Blissfully gleam.

Found


Once through the forest

Alone I went;
To seek for nothing
My thoughts were bent.
I saw i' the shadow
A flower stand there


As stars it glisten'd,
As eyes 'twas fair.
I sought to pluck it,-
It gently said:


'Shall I be gather'd
Only to fade?'
With all its roots
I dug it with care,


And took it home
To my garden fair.
In silent corner
Soon it was set;


There grows it ever,
There blooms it yet.

Found


Once through the forest

Alone I went;
To seek for nothing
My thoughts were bent.
I saw i' the shadow
A flower stand there


As stars it glisten'd,
As eyes 'twas fair.
I sought to pluck it,-
It gently said:


'Shall I be gather'd
Only to fade?'
With all its roots
I dug it with care,


And took it home
To my garden fair.
In silent corner
Soon it was set;


There grows it ever,
There blooms it yet.

Ever And Everywhere

FAR explore the mountain hollow,
High in air the clouds then follow!
To each brook and vale the Muse

Thousand times her call renews.
Soon as a flow'ret blooms in spring,
It wakens many a strain;

And when Time spreads his fleeting wing,
The seasons come again.

Ever And Everywhere

FAR explore the mountain hollow,
High in air the clouds then follow!
To each brook and vale the Muse

Thousand times her call renews.
Soon as a flow'ret blooms in spring,
It wakens many a strain;

And when Time spreads his fleeting wing,
The seasons come again.

Calm At Sea

SILENCE deep rules o'er the waters,

Calmly slumb'ring lies the main,
While the sailor views with trouble
Nought but one vast level plain.
Not a zephyr is in motion!
Silence fearful as the grave!


In the mighty waste of ocean
Sunk to rest is ev'ry wave.

Book Of Suleika - Suleika 02

WHAT is by this stir reveal'd?

Doth the East glad tidings bring?
For my heart's deep wounds are heal'd
By his mild and cooling wing.
He the dust with sports doth meet,
And in gentle cloudlets chase;


To the vineleaf's safe retreat
Drives the insects' happy race,
Cools these burning cheeks of mine,
Checks the sun's fierce glow Adam,


Kisses, as he flies, the vine,
Flaunting over hill and plain.
And his whispers soft convey
Thousand greetings from my friend;


Ere these hills own night's dark sway,
Kisses greet me, without end.
Thus canst thou still onward go,
Serving friend and mourner too!


There, where lofty ramparts glow,
Soon the loved one shall I view.
Ah, what makes the heart's truth known,-Love's
sweet breath,--a newborn life,--


Learn I from his mouth alone,
In his breath alone is rife!

Book Of Parables - In The Koran With Strange Delight

In the Koran with strange delight
A peacock's feather met my sight:
Thou'rt welcome in this holy place,
The highest prize on earth's wide face!
As in the stars of heaven, in thee,
God's greatness in the small we see;
For he whose gaze whole worlds bath bless'd
His eye hath even here impress'd,
And the light down in beauty dress'd,
So that e'en monarchs cannot hope
In splendour with the bird to cope.
Meekly enjoy thy happy lot,
And so deserve that holy spot!

Anacreon's Grave

HERE where the roses blossom, where vines round the laurels are twining,
Where the turtle-dove calls, where the blithe cricket is heard,
Say, whose grave can this be, with life by all the Immortals


Beauteously planted and deck'd?--Here doth Anacreon sleep
Spring and summer and autumn rejoiced the thrice-happy minstrel,
And from the winter this mound kindly hath screen'd him at last.

Ode to Pity

1

Ever musing I delight to tread
The Paths of honour and the Myrtle Grove
Whilst the pale Moon her beams doth shed
On disappointed Love.
While Philomel on airy hawthorn Bush
Sings sweet and Melancholy, And the thrush
Converses with the Dove.


2


Gently brawling down the turnpike road,
Sweetly noisy falls the Silent Stream--
The Moon emerges from behind a Cloud
And darts upon the Myrtle Grove her beam.
Ah! then what Lovely Scenes appear,
The hut, the Cot, the Grot, and Chapel queer,
And eke the Abbey too a mouldering heap,
Cnceal'd by aged pines her head doth rear
And quite invisible doth take a peep.

With Hale Affection And Abiding Faith These Rhymes And Pictures Are
Inscribed To The Children Everywhere

_He owns the bird-songs of the hills--
The laughter of the April rills;
And his are all the diamonds set
In Morning's dewy coronet,--
And his the Dusk's first minted stars
That twinkle through the pasture-bars
And litter all the skies at night
With glittering scraps of silver light;--
The rainbow's bar, from rim to rim,
In beaten gold, belongs to him._

While The Musician Played

O it was but a dream I had
While the musician played!--
And here the sky, and here the glad
Old ocean kissed the glade--
And here the laughing ripples ran,
And here the roses grew
That threw a kiss to every man
That voyaged with the crew.


Our silken sails in lazy folds
Drooped in the breathless breeze:
As o'er a field of marigolds
Our eyes swam o'er the seas;
While here the eddies lisped and purled
Around the island's rim,
And up from out the underworld
We saw the mermen swim.


And it was dawn and middle-day
And midnight--for the moon
On silver rounds across the bay
Had climbed the skies of June--
And there the glowing, glorious king
Of day ruled o'er his realm,
With stars of midnight glittering
About his diadem.


The seagull reeled on languid wing
In circles round the mast,
We heard the songs the sirens sing
As we went sailing past;
And up and down the golden sands
A thousand fairy throngs
Flung at us from their flashing hands
The echoes of their songs.


O it was but a dream I had
While the musician played--
For here the sky, and here the glad
Old ocean kissed the glade;
And here the laughing ripples ran,
And here the roses grew
That threw a kiss to every man
That voyaged with the crew.

While The Musician Played

O it was but a dream I had
While the musician played!--
And here the sky, and here the glad
Old ocean kissed the glade--
And here the laughing ripples ran,
And here the roses grew
That threw a kiss to every man
That voyaged with the crew.


Our silken sails in lazy folds
Drooped in the breathless breeze:
As o'er a field of marigolds
Our eyes swam o'er the seas;
While here the eddies lisped and purled
Around the island's rim,
And up from out the underworld
We saw the mermen swim.


And it was dawn and middle-day
And midnight--for the moon
On silver rounds across the bay
Had climbed the skies of June--
And there the glowing, glorious king
Of day ruled o'er his realm,
With stars of midnight glittering
About his diadem.


The seagull reeled on languid wing
In circles round the mast,
We heard the songs the sirens sing
As we went sailing past;
And up and down the golden sands
A thousand fairy throngs
Flung at us from their flashing hands
The echoes of their songs.


O it was but a dream I had
While the musician played--
For here the sky, and here the glad
Old ocean kissed the glade;
And here the laughing ripples ran,
And here the roses grew
That threw a kiss to every man
That voyaged with the crew.

When Old Jack Died

I.
When old Jack died, we staid from school (they said,
At home, we needn't go that day), and none
Of us ate any breakfast--only one,
And that was Papa--and his eyes were red
When he came round where we were, by the shed
Where Jack was lying, half way in the sun
And half way in the shade. When we begun
To cry out loud, Pa turned and dropped his head
And went away; and Mamma, she went back
Into the kitchen. Then, for a long while,
All to ourselves, like, we stood there and cried.
We thought so many good things of Old Jack,
And funny things--although we didn't smile--We
couldn't only cry when Old Jack died.

II.
When Old Jack died, it seemed a human friend
Had suddenly gone from us; that some face
That we had loved to fondle and embrace
From babyhood, no more would condescend
To smile on us forever. We might bend
With tearful eyes above him, interlace
Our chubby fingers o'er him, romp and race,
Plead with him, call and coax--aye, we might send
The old halloo up for him, whistle, hist,
(If sobs had let us) or, as wildly vain,
Snapped thumbs, called 'speak,' and he had not replied;
We might have gone down on our knees and kissed
The tousled ears, and yet they must remain
Deaf, motionless, we knew--when Old Jack died.

III.
When Old Jack died, it seemed to us, some way,
That all the other dogs in town were pained
With our bereavement, and some that were chained,
Even, unslipped their collars on that day
To visit Jack in state, as though to pay
A last, sad tribute there, while neighbors craned
Their heads above the high board fence, and deigned
To sigh 'Poor dog!' remembering how they
Had cuffed him, when alive, perchance, because,
For love of them he leaped to lick their hands--
Now, that he could not, were they satisfied?
We children thought that, as we crossed his paws,
And o'er his grave, 'way down the bottom-lands,
Wrote 'Our First Love Lies Here,' when Old Jack died.