Friday, October 12, 2012
The Daisy follows soft the Sun by Emily Dickinson
The Daisy follows soft the Sun
And when his golden walk is done
Sits shyly at his feet
He—waking—finds the flower there
Wherefore—Marauder—art thou here?
Because, Sir, love is sweet!
We are the Flower—Thou the Sun!
Forgive us, if as days decline
We nearer steal to Thee!
Enamored of the parting West
The peace—the flight—the Amethyst
Night's possibility!
And when his golden walk is done
Sits shyly at his feet
He—waking—finds the flower there
Wherefore—Marauder—art thou here?
Because, Sir, love is sweet!
We are the Flower—Thou the Sun!
Forgive us, if as days decline
We nearer steal to Thee!
Enamored of the parting West
The peace—the flight—the Amethyst
Night's possibility!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Daisies Out At Sea by Eric Mackay
I.
These are the buds we bear beyond the surf, -
Enshrined in mould and turf, -
To take to fields far off, a land's salute
Of high and vast repute, -
The Shakespeare-land of every heart's desire,
Whereof, 'tis said, the fame shall not expire,
But shine in all men's thoughts as shines a beacon-fire.
II.
O bright and gracious things that seem to glow
With frills of winter snow,
And little golden heads that know the sun,
And seasons half begun,
How blythe they look, how fresh and debonair,
In this their prison on the seaward air,
On which no lark has soar'd to improvise a prayer.
III.
Have they no memory of the inland grass, -
The fields where breezes pass
, And where the full-eyed children, out at play,
Make all the land so gay?
Have they no thought of dews that, like a tear,
Were shed by Morning on the Night's cold bier,
In far-off English homes, belov'd by all men here?
IV.
O gems of earth! O trinkets of the spring!
The sun, your gentle king,
Who counts your leaves and marshals ye apace,
In many a sacred place,
The godlike summer sun will miss ye all,
For he has foster'd all things, great and small,
Yea, all good things that live on earth's revolving ball.
V.
But when, on deck, he sees with eye serene
The kirtles, tender-green,
And fair fresh faces of his hardy flowers,
How will he throb for hours,
And wish the lark, the laureate of the light,
Were near at hand, to see so fair a sight,
And chant the joys thereof in words we cannot write.
VI.
Oh, I have lov'd ye more than may be told,
And deem'd it fairy-gold, -
And fairy-silver, - that ye bear withal;
Ye are so soft and small,
I weep for joy to find ye here to-day
So near to Heaven, and yet so far away,
In our good ocean-ship, whose bows are wet with spray.
VII.
Ye are the cynosure of many eyes
Bright-blue as English skies, -
The sailors' eyes that scan ye in a row,
As if intent to show
That this dear freight of mould and meadow-flower
Which sails the sea, in sunshine and in shower,
Is England's gift of love, which storms shall not devour.
VIII.
She sends ye forth in sadness and in joy,
As one may send a toy
To children's children, bred in other lands
By love-abiding hands.
And, day by day, ye sail upon the foam
To call to mind the sires' and mothers' home,
Where babes, now grown to men, were wont of yore to roam.
IX.
In England's name, in Shakespeare's, - and in ours,
Who bear these trusted flowers, -
There shall be heard a cheer from many throats,
A rush and roar of notes,
As loud, and proud, as those of heavenward birds;
And they who till the ground and tend the herds
Will read our thoughts therein, and clothe the same in words.
X.
For England's sake, for England once again,
In pride and power and pain,
For England, aye! for England in the girth
Of all her joy and worth,
A strong and clear, outspoken, undefined,
And uncontroll'd wild shout upon the wind,
Will greet these winsome flowers as friends of human-kind!
(public domain)
These are the buds we bear beyond the surf, -
Enshrined in mould and turf, -
To take to fields far off, a land's salute
Of high and vast repute, -
The Shakespeare-land of every heart's desire,
Whereof, 'tis said, the fame shall not expire,
But shine in all men's thoughts as shines a beacon-fire.
II.
O bright and gracious things that seem to glow
With frills of winter snow,
And little golden heads that know the sun,
And seasons half begun,
How blythe they look, how fresh and debonair,
In this their prison on the seaward air,
On which no lark has soar'd to improvise a prayer.
III.
Have they no memory of the inland grass, -
The fields where breezes pass
, And where the full-eyed children, out at play,
Make all the land so gay?
Have they no thought of dews that, like a tear,
Were shed by Morning on the Night's cold bier,
In far-off English homes, belov'd by all men here?
IV.
O gems of earth! O trinkets of the spring!
The sun, your gentle king,
Who counts your leaves and marshals ye apace,
In many a sacred place,
The godlike summer sun will miss ye all,
For he has foster'd all things, great and small,
Yea, all good things that live on earth's revolving ball.
V.
But when, on deck, he sees with eye serene
The kirtles, tender-green,
And fair fresh faces of his hardy flowers,
How will he throb for hours,
And wish the lark, the laureate of the light,
Were near at hand, to see so fair a sight,
And chant the joys thereof in words we cannot write.
VI.
Oh, I have lov'd ye more than may be told,
And deem'd it fairy-gold, -
And fairy-silver, - that ye bear withal;
Ye are so soft and small,
I weep for joy to find ye here to-day
So near to Heaven, and yet so far away,
In our good ocean-ship, whose bows are wet with spray.
VII.
Ye are the cynosure of many eyes
Bright-blue as English skies, -
The sailors' eyes that scan ye in a row,
As if intent to show
That this dear freight of mould and meadow-flower
Which sails the sea, in sunshine and in shower,
Is England's gift of love, which storms shall not devour.
VIII.
She sends ye forth in sadness and in joy,
As one may send a toy
To children's children, bred in other lands
By love-abiding hands.
And, day by day, ye sail upon the foam
To call to mind the sires' and mothers' home,
Where babes, now grown to men, were wont of yore to roam.
IX.
In England's name, in Shakespeare's, - and in ours,
Who bear these trusted flowers, -
There shall be heard a cheer from many throats,
A rush and roar of notes,
As loud, and proud, as those of heavenward birds;
And they who till the ground and tend the herds
Will read our thoughts therein, and clothe the same in words.
X.
For England's sake, for England once again,
In pride and power and pain,
For England, aye! for England in the girth
Of all her joy and worth,
A strong and clear, outspoken, undefined,
And uncontroll'd wild shout upon the wind,
Will greet these winsome flowers as friends of human-kind!
(public domain)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Daisy by Virna Sheard
An angel found a daisy where it lay
On Heaven's highroad of transparent gold,
And, turning to one near, he said, "I pray,
Tell me what manner of strange bloom I hold.
You came a long, long way - perchance you know
In what far country such fair flowers blow?"
Then spoke the other: "Turn thy radiant face
And gaze with me down purple depth of space.
See, where the stars lie spilled upon the night,
Like amber beads that hold a yellow light.
Note one that burns with faint yet steady glow;
It is the Earth - and there these blossoms grow.
Some little child from that dear, distant land
Hath borne this hither in his dimpled hand."
Still gazed he down. "Ah, friend," he said, "I, too,
Oft crossed the fields at home where daisies grew."
(public domain)
On Heaven's highroad of transparent gold,
And, turning to one near, he said, "I pray,
Tell me what manner of strange bloom I hold.
You came a long, long way - perchance you know
In what far country such fair flowers blow?"
Then spoke the other: "Turn thy radiant face
And gaze with me down purple depth of space.
See, where the stars lie spilled upon the night,
Like amber beads that hold a yellow light.
Note one that burns with faint yet steady glow;
It is the Earth - and there these blossoms grow.
Some little child from that dear, distant land
Hath borne this hither in his dimpled hand."
Still gazed he down. "Ah, friend," he said, "I, too,
Oft crossed the fields at home where daisies grew."
(public domain)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
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