588
POEMS WRITTEN IN 1820
Part III
And on the fourth, the Sensitive Plant 5
Felt the sound of the funeral chant,
And the steps of the bearers, heavy and slow,
And the sobs of the mourners, deep and low;
Felt the sound of the funeral chant,
And the steps of the bearers, heavy and slow,
And the sobs of the mourners, deep and low;
The weary sound and the heavy breath,
And the silent motions of passing death. 10
And the smell, cold, oppressive, and dank,
Sent through the pores of the coffin-plank;
And the silent motions of passing death. 10
And the smell, cold, oppressive, and dank,
Sent through the pores of the coffin-plank;
The dark grass, and the flowers among the grass,
Were bright with tears as the crowd did pass;
From their sighs the wind caught a mournful tone, 15
And sate in the pines, and gave groan for groan.
Were bright with tears as the crowd did pass;
From their sighs the wind caught a mournful tone, 15
And sate in the pines, and gave groan for groan.
The garden, once fair, became cold and foul,
Like the corpse of her who had been its soul,
Which at first was lovely[1] as if in sleep,
Then slowly changed, till it grew a heap 20
To make men tremble who never weep.
Like the corpse of her who had been its soul,
Which at first was lovely[1] as if in sleep,
Then slowly changed, till it grew a heap 20
To make men tremble who never weep.
Swift Summer into the Autumn flowed,
And frost in the mist of the morning[2] rode,
Though the noonday sun looked clear and bright,
Mocking the spoil of the secret night. 25
And frost in the mist of the morning[2] rode,
Though the noonday sun looked clear and bright,
Mocking the spoil of the secret night. 25
The rose-leaves, like flakes of crimson snow[3],
Paved the turf and the moss below.
The lilies were drooping, and white, and wan,[4]
Like the head and the skin of a dying man.
Paved the turf and the moss below.
The lilies were drooping, and white, and wan,[4]
Like the head and the skin of a dying man.
And Indian plants, of scent and hue 30
The sweetest that ever were fed on dew,
Leaf by leaf, day after day,[5]
Were massed into the common clay.
The sweetest that ever were fed on dew,
Leaf by leaf, day after day,[5]
Were massed into the common clay.
And the leaves, brown, yellow, and gray, and red,
And white with the whiteness of what is dead, 35
Like troops of ghosts on the dry wind passed;
Their whistling noise made the birds aghast.
And white with the whiteness of what is dead, 35
Like troops of ghosts on the dry wind passed;
Their whistling noise made the birds aghast.
And the gusty winds waked the wingèd seeds,
Out of their birthplace of ugly weeds,
Till they clung round many a sweet flower's stem, 40
Which rotted into the earth with them.
Out of their birthplace of ugly weeds,
Till they clung round many a sweet flower's stem, 40
Which rotted into the earth with them.
The water-blooms under the rivulet
Fell from the stalks on which they were set;
And the eddies drove them here and there,
As the winds did those of the upper air. 45
Fell from the stalks on which they were set;
And the eddies drove them here and there,
As the winds did those of the upper air. 45
- ↑ 19 lovely Harvard MS., 1839; lively 1820.
- ↑ 23 of the morning 1820, 1839; of morning Harvard MS.
- ↑ 26 snow Harvard MS., 1839; now 1820.
- ↑ 28 And lilies were drooping, white and wan Harvard MS.
- ↑ 32 Leaf by leaf, day after day Harvard MS.; Leaf after leaf, day after day 1820; Leaf after leaf, day by day 1839.
