Looking Back.
Are the sun-ripe apples gathered ?1
Do the violets scent the bed ?2
The almond-breathing clematis3
Full clustered overhead ?4
Is the autumn air as balmy,5
And the evening sky as red ?6
Are ruddy leaves yet falling7
On the dew-ensilvered lawn ?8
Do butterflies still flicker9
When the vapours are withdrawn10
Over blossoms flush’d or fading,11
Fire-tinted as the dawn ?12
Is light and shadow dreaming13
In the sheltered laurel glade ?14
In the wilderness I planted15
Do the birds sing undismayed—16
The old birds, and the nestlings17
That were hatched beneath its shade ?18
The shapes of breezy whiteness19
That gamboll’d at my feet,20
With eager eyes, and loving cries,21
And life at fever-heat—22
They are resting in the twilight23
Of that ever-green retreat.24
O sweet it was to loiter25
With one no longer Here ;26
The sunny stillness shaken27
By carols loud and clear :28
Our pleasant talk suspended29
For joys of eye and ear.30
To greet the budding spring-time31
And watch the year’s decay,32
And make my heart the counterpart33
Of Nature’s ebb and play,34
That weeps and grieves, and sheds her leaves,35
To smile again in May.36