Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing,

Dispart us; and the river of eventsHas, for an age of years, to east and westMore widely borne our cradles. Thou to meArt foreign, as when seamen at the dawnDescry a land far off and know not which.So I approach uncertain; so I cruiseRound thy mysterious islet, and beholdSurf and great mountains and loud river-bars,And…

Since last, in foul or fairAn impecunious pair,Below this northern skyOf ours, we met.Now winter night shall seeAgain us two,While howls the tempest higher,Sit warmly by the fireAnd dream and plan, as weWere wont to do.And, hand in hand, at largeOur thoughts shall walkWhile storm and gusty rain,Again and yet again,Shall drive their noisy chargeAcross…

And kissing hands, in chorus sing:Good-bye, good-bye, to everything!To house and garden, field and lawn,The meadow-gates we swang upon,To pump and stable, tree and swing,Good-bye, good-bye, to everything!And fare you well for evermore,O ladder at the hayloft door,O hayloft where the cobwebs cling,Good-bye, good-bye, to everything!Crack goes the whip, and off we go;The trees and…

The Psalm seems but the little kirkThat sings with its own voice.The cloud-rifts share their amber lightWith the surface of the mere –I think the very stones are gladTo feel each other near.Once more my whole heart leaps and swellsAnd gushes o’er with glee;The fingers of the sun and shadeTouch music stops in me.Now fancy…

They sit at home and talk and sing,And do not play at anything.Now, with my little gun, I crawlAll in the dark along the wall,And follow round the forest trackAway behind the sofa back.There, in the night, where none can spy,All in my hunter’s camp I lie,And play at books that I have readTill it…

Come to me, ye heavy laden, sin defiled and care opprest,In your father’s quiet mansions, soon to prove a welcome guest.But an hour you bear your trial, sin and suffer, bleed and die;But an hour you toil and combat here in day’s inspiring eye.See the feet of your deliverer; lo, the hour of freedom nigh.