Laughing Rose by William Henry Davies

Laughing Rose by William Henry Davies If I were gusty April now, How I would blow at laughing Rose; I’d make her ribbons slip their knots, And all her hair come loose. If I were merry April now, How I would pelt her cheeks with showers; I’d make carnations, rich and warm, Of her vermillion […]

Joy and Pleasure by William Henry Davies

Joy and Pleasure by William Henry Davies Now, joy is born of parents poor, And pleasure of our richer kind; Though pleasure’s free, she cannot sing As sweet a song as joy confined. Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day And dances by false glare at night; But Joy’s a Butterfly, that loves To spread […]

William Henry Davies – William Henry Davies

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In the Country by William Henry Davies

In the Country by William Henry Davies This life is sweetest; in this wood I hear no children cry for food; I see no woman, white with care; No man, with muscled wasting here. No doubt it is a selfish thing To fly from human suffering; No doubt he is a selfish man, Who shuns […]

In May by William Henry Davies

In May by William Henry Davies Yes, I will spend the livelong day With Nature in this month of May; And sit beneath the trees, and share My bread with birds whose homes are there; While cows lie down to eat, and sheep Stand to their necks in grass so deep; While birds do sing […]

Days Too Short by William Henry Davies

Days Too Short by William Henry Davies When primroses are out in Spring, And small, blue violets come between; When merry birds sing on boughs green, And rills, as soon as born, must sing; When butterflies will make side-leaps, As though escaped from Nature’s hand Ere perfect quite; and bees will stand Upon their heads […]

Come, Let Us Find by William Henry Davies

Come, Let Us Find by William Henry Davies Come, let us find a cottage, love, That’s green for half a mile around; To laugh at every grumbling bee, Whose sweetest blossom’s not yet found. Where many a bird shall sing for you, And in your garden build its nest: They’ll sing for you as though […]

Charms by William Henry Davies

Charms by William Henry Davies She walks as lightly as the fly Skates on the water in July. To hear her moving petticoat For me is music’s highest note. Stones are not heard, when her feet pass, No more than tumps of moss or grass. When she sits still, she’s like the flower To be […]

April’s Charms by William Henry Davies

April’s Charms by William Henry Davies When April scatters charms of primrose gold Among the copper leaves in thickets old, And singing skylarks from the meadows rise, To twinkle like black stars in sunny skies; When I can hear the small woodpecker ring Time on a tree for all the birds that sing; And hear […]

All in June by William Henry Davies

All in June by William Henry Davies A week ago I had a fire To warm my feet, my hands and face; Cold winds, that never make a friend, Crept in and out of every place. Today the fields are rich in grass, And buttercups in thousands grow; I’ll show the world where I have […]

Ale by William Henry Davies

Ale by William Henry Davies Now do I hear thee weep and groan, Who hath a comrade sunk at sea? Then quaff thee of my good old ale, And it will raise him up for thee; Thoul’t think as little of him then As when he moved with living men. If thou hast hopes to […]

A Plain Life by William Henry Davies

A Plain Life by William Henry Davies No idle gold — since this fine sun, my friend, Is no mean miser, but doth freely spend. No prescious stones — since these green mornings show, Without a charge, their pearls where’er I go. No lifeless books — since birds with their sweet tongues Will read aloud […]

A Greeting by William Henry Davies

A Greeting by William Henry Davies Good morning, Life–and all Things glad and beautiful. My pockets nothing hold, But he that owns the gold, The Sun, is my great friend– His spending has no end. Hail to the morning sky, Which bright clouds measure high; Hail to you birds whose throats Would number leaves by […]

A Great Time by William Henry Davies

A Great Time by William Henry Davies Sweet Chance, that led my steps abroad, Beyond the town, where wild flowers grow — A rainbow and a cuckoo, Lord, How rich and great the times are now! Know, all ye sheep And cows, that keep On staring that I stand so long In grass that’s wet […]

A Fleeting Passion by William Henry Davies

A Fleeting Passion by William Henry Davies Thou shalt not laugh, thou shalt not romp, Let’s grimly kiss with bated breath; As quietly and solemnly As Life when it is kissing Death. Now in the silence of the grave, My hand is squeezing that soft breast; While thou dost in such passion lie, It mocks […]

The Hecatomb to his Mistress by John Cleveland

    Hecatomb   The Hecatomb to his Mistress. Be dumb, you beggars of the rhyming trade, Geld your loose wits and let your Muse be spayed. Charge not the parish with the bastard phrase Of balm, elixir, both the Indias, Of shrine, saint, sacrilege, and such as these Expressions common as your mistresses. Hence, […]

To A Little Girl That Has Told A Lie

AND has my darling told a lie? Did she forget that GOD was by? That GOD, who saw the things she did, From whom no action can be hid; Did she forget that GOD could see And hear, wherever she might be?   He made your eyes, and can discern Whichever way you think to […]