FERN HILL
by Dylan Thomas
Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light.
And as I was green and carefree, famous among the barns
About the happy yard and singing as the farm was home,
In the sun that is young once only,
Time let me play and be
Golden in the mercy of his means,
And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman, the calves
Sang to my horn, the foxes on the hills barked clear and cold,
And the sabbath rang slowly
In the pebbles of the holy streams.
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read the rest)
THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREEby William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
Thank you Lissa for the link to Cindy's butterfly post and photos. My dd2 is just becoming insect friendly again. She will love the photos!
Posted by: Rebecca | April 25, 2006 at 06:54 AM
The website reminds of "An Exaltation of Larks" by James Lipton, which I had to locate on the shelf the other week when dd wanted to know the proper term for "a flock of robins" (which we had in the yard at the time). I'd tell you but I can't get the book away from my kid lol.
Posted by: Becky | April 25, 2006 at 08:08 AM
I should have thought it wsa a 'fluttering' of butterflies. You do find the most interesting things.
Posted by: deputyheadmistress | April 25, 2006 at 10:50 AM
I keep meaning to check that book out of the library, Becky. Thanks for the reminder!
"A fluttering of butterflies"—beautiful!
Rebecca, I'm amazed your dd will even look at a bug after that spider encounter. Your post about it made me shudder and guffaw at the same time.
Posted by: Melissa Wiley | April 26, 2006 at 06:24 AM