Oliver Wendell Holmes

THESE hallowed precincts, long to memory dear,

With softer gales the opening leaves are fanned,With fairer hues the kindling flowers expand,The rose-bush reddens with the blush of June,The groves are vocal with their minstrels’ tune,The mighty elm, beneath whose arching shadeThe wandering children of the forest strayed,Greets the bright morning in its bridal dress,And spreads its arms the gladsome dawn to bless.Is…

FAREWELL, for the bark has her breast to the tide,

The winds from the mountain stream over the bay;One clasp of the hand, then away and away!I see the tall mast as it rocks by the shore;The sun is declining, I see it once more;To-day like the blade in a thick-waving field,To-morrow the spike on a Highlander’s shield.Alone, while the cloud pours its treacherous breath,With…

A PROLOGUE? Well, of course the ladies know,–

What is a Prologue? Let our Tutor teach:Pro means beforehand; logos stands for speech.‘T is like the harper’s prelude on the strings,The prima donna’s courtesy ere she sings;Prologues in metre are to other prosAs worsted stockings are to engine-hose.‘The world’s a stage,’–as Shakespeare said, one day;The stage a world–was what he meant to say.The outside…

COME, spread your wings, as I spread mine,

For where the eyes of twilight shineO’er evening’s western wall.These are the pleasant Berkshire hills,Each with its leafy crown;Hark! from their sides a thousand rillsCome singing sweetly down.A thousand rills; they leap and shine,Strained through the shadowy nooks,Till, clasped in many a gathering twine,They swell a hundred brooks.A hundred brooks, and still they runWith ripple,…

I LIKE, at times, to hear the steeples’ chimes

But sometimes, too, I rather like–don’t you?–To hear the music of the sleigh bells’ jingle.I like full well the deep resounding swellOf mighty symphonies with chords inwoven;But sometimes, too, a song of Burns–don’t you?After a solemn storm-blast of Beethoven.Good to the heels the well-worn slipper feelsWhen the tired player shuffles off the buskin;A page of…