A Shropshire Lad
A. E. Housman (26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936)
IV
REVEILLE
Wake: the silver dusk returning
Up the beach of darkness brims,
And the ship of sunrise burning
Strands upon the eastern rims.
Wake: the vaulted shadow shatters,
Trampled to the floor it spanned,
And the tent of night in tatters
Straws the sky-pavilioned land.
Up, lad, up, ’tis late for lying:
Hear the drums of morning play;
Hark, the empty highways crying
“Who’ll beyond the hills away?”
Towns and countries woo together,
Forelands beacon, belfries call;
Never lad that trod on leather
Lived to feast his heart with all.
Up, lad: thews that lie and cumber
Sunlit pallets never thrive;
Morns abed and daylight slumber
Were not meant for man alive.
Clay lies still, but blood’s a rover;
Breath’s a ware that will not keep
Up, lad: when the journey’s over
There’ll be time enough to sleep
Language of Flowers
Kate Greenaway (17 March 1846 – 6 November 1901)
Hand Flower Tree Warning.
Harebell Submission. Grief.
Hawkweed Quicksightedness.
Hawthorn Hope.
Hazel Reconciliation.
Heath Solitude.
Helenium Tears.
Heliotrope Devotion. Faithfulness.
HelleboreScandal. Calumny.
Helmet Flower (Monkshood) Knight-errantry.
Hemlock You will be my death.
Hemp Fate.
Henbane Imperfection.
Hepatica Confidence.
Hibiscus Delicate beauty.
Holly Foresight.
Holly Herb Enchantment.
Hollyhock Ambition. Fecundity.
Honesty Honesty. Fascination.
Honey Flower Love sweet and secret.
Honeysuckle Generous and devoted affection.
Honeysuckle Coral The colour of my fate.
Honeysuckle (French) Rustic beauty.
Hop Injustice.
Hornbeam Ornament.
Horse Chesnut Luxury.
Hortensia You are cold.
Houseleek Vivacity. Domestic industry.
Houstonia Content.
Hoya Sculpture.
Humble Plant Despondency.
Hundred-leaved Rose Dignity of mind.
Hyacinth Sport. Game. Play.
Hyacinth, White Unobtrusive loveliness.
Hydrangea A boaster. Heartlessness.
Hyssop Cleanliness.
Love in tatters
The blood’s alive
Burning to the warning drums
When sunrise brims, rims
The sky-pavilioned land
With the colour of my fate
Silver strands of foresight
Spanned the night not meant for slumber
Wake tears that will not keep
Cold darkness crying, of you lying
And injustice shatters a shadow of clay
LikeLiked by 6 people
I love the rhythm of this
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope Sweet and Secret
Wake up, hyssop, hemp and hawthorne
Love is alive, the sunrise,
morning
burning hollyhocks of silver highways,
hellebore of crying hills.
LikeLiked by 6 people
I read this just past sunrise and I felt the hope here
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I felt such positive energy doing this. So happy to share it with you.
LikeLike
This is lovely, your affinity with nature always shines through.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Makes me long to wake at dawn and go out to see x
LikeLike
warning
lies my lies my lying
my faithlessness my heartlessness my calumny
my hemlock hand to keep you in solitude nightcrying
there will not be luxury of hope there will not be dignity of heart
there will be burning of imperfection and vivacity trod to the floor
there will be sweet confidence trampled in tatters in shatters
you will be my emptysecret my housescandal my nightsubmission
you will be my thorndarkness my sleepweed my bloodsculpture
you will be sport and game and ornament and shadow
play quicksighted play unobtrusive play house
deathdevoted heart cold beyond cold
wake hark hear my lies
lies beyond lies
keep up
LikeLiked by 7 people
Powerful, that hole down the middle where there is no hope
LikeLiked by 2 people
something of the zeitgeist I think
– the beauty here from everyone else has been very encouraging, its own kind of resistance
LikeLike
This is fabulously dark!
LikeLike
it is indeed – lovely to see your work again here
LikeLike
Enough of Slumber
Wake-up! Wake-up!
enough of slumber
the trampled darkness
of night shatters
to the call of sunrise
— the language of morning
Wake-up! Wake-up!
hear the sunlit strands
of burning coral
land upon the clay
beyond the hills and belfries
— beyond the eastern rims
Wake-up! Wake-up!
feast upon the vaulted sky
that brims with colour enchantment
and sweet flowers’ breath
— and hear the humble hope of drums
wake-up my heart
LikeLiked by 6 people
Marvelous how you’ve painted the sky
LikeLiked by 2 people
REVEILLE
Solitude strands upon the vaulted shadow of Hope
that lies still on the sky-pavilioned land in the colour of Faithfulness;
Death and Fate — Enchantment and Night-errantry —
woo devoted together that will keep darkness burning
and delicate Beauty content will be Love returning
when my Hundred-March Play of Sleep
’tis over
LikeLiked by 6 people
“the colour of faithfulness…”
so cool.
If there is anything I’ve taken from your writing, it is to remove all assumptions of the order words go in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. A few of the previous poems selected were for their _archaic_ word use and word order which – when written – was common. (Zoë goes much further in how the order of words is used differently like when a long sentence changes from past tense to future tense by simple word order.) French, Spanish and Japanese languages are perfect for understanding how to change English syntax. Follow no assumptions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
(pallets)
strands of submission trampled to the floor
a generous journey’s not meant for sleep
for highways lived to feast on straws and clay
the tent never burning
imperfection – a delicate beauty
LikeLiked by 5 people
(breath)
the silver beach of darkness
a ship of vaulted shadow
you hear the drums crying
for night to woo daylight
a secret fascination
with that sky highway
aware there’ll be time enough
to feast on his heart
when the journey’s over
content with imperfection
a boaster, but a sport
LikeLiked by 6 people
‘sky highway’ – love that!
LikeLike
thanks ^_^
LikeLike
Faithfulness
Wake: the silver dusk returning
A holly herb enchantment
Up, lad, up, ’tis late for lying!
His hollyhock ambition
Lived to feast his heart with all
On honeysuckle affection
Wake: the vaulted shadow shatters
And joyous you will be my death.
Leaving the tent of night in tatters
And any henbane imperfection
Strands upon the eastern rims
Within heliotrope devotion
LikeLiked by 6 people
‘His Hollyhock ambition’ – love it 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you 😊
LikeLike
Honesty
The colour of my death is but a calumny of solitude and tears
The luxury of daylight slumber – sunlit sky-pavilioned fascination
Sweet secret heart enchantment – brims tatters of a lie
A hundred-leaved rose will never thrive on cold highways of despondency
Crying – empty loveliness a game – the journey’s over.
LikeLiked by 5 people
“arch 1859 – 30 Ap”
vaulted shadow shatters, / Trampled to thaway?”
Towns and countries woo together, Warning. / Harebealumny. / Helmet Flower (Monkshood) Knight-errantry. / Hemlock You will be mrod on leather / Lived to feast his heart with all.
Up, lad: thews thad land.
Up, lad, up, ’tis late for lying: / Hear the drums of morning e drums of morning play; / Hark, the empty highways crying / “Wned, / And the tent of night in tatters / Straws the sky-to sleep
Language of Flowers / Kate Greenawckle (French) Rustic beauty. / Hop Injustice. / Hornbmeant for man alive.
Clay li / Heliotrope Devotion. Faithfulness. / HelleboreScandal. Calumny. / Helmet Flower (Monkshood) Knight-erme. Play. / Hyacinth, White Unobter, / Forelands beacon, belfries call; / Never lad that trod on leather / Lived to feast his heart wihock Ambition. Fecundity. / Honesty Honesty. Fascination. / Honey Ffection. / Honeysuckle Coral The colour of my fate.m Ornament. / Horse Chesnut Luxury. / Hortensia You are cold. / Houselelets never thrive; / Morns abed and daylight slumber / Were not mcksightedness. / Hawthorn Hope. / Hazel Reconciliacity. Domestic industry. / Houstonia Content. / oya Sculpture. / Humble Plant Despondency. / Hundred-leaved Rosise burning / Strands upon the eastern rims.
Wake: the vaulted shadow shatters, / Trampled to the floor it spanned, / And the tent of night ind countries woo together, / Forelands beacon, belfries call; / Never lad that trod on leather / Lived to feast
LikeLiked by 3 people