A Book of Irish Verse: Selected from modern writers, with an introduction and notes by W. B. Yeats
General
A Book of Irish Verse: Selected from modern writers, with an introduction and notes by W. B. Yeats
English poetry -- Irish authors; Ireland -- Poetry
All things tell His praise,
Woods and waters thereof sing,
Summer, winter, autumn, spring,
And the nights and days.
Yea, and cold and heat,
And the sun, and stars, and moon,
Sea with her monotonous tune,
Rain and hail and sleet.
And the winds of heaven,
And the solemn hills of blue,
And the brown earth and the dew,
And the thunder even,
And the flowers' sweet breath,--
All things make one glorious voice;
Life with fleeting pains and joys
And our brother--Death.
Little flowers of air,
With your feathers soft and sleek
And your bright brown eyes and meek,
He hath made you fair.
He hath taught to you
Skill to weave on tree and thatch
Nests where happy mothers hatch
Speckled eggs of blue.
And hath children given:
When the soft heads overbrim
The brown nests; then thank ye Him
In the clouds of heaven.
Also in your lives,
Live His laws who loveth you.
Husbands, be ye kind and true;
Be homekeeping wives.
Love not gossiping;
Stay at home and keep the nest;
Fly not here and there in quest
Of the newest thing.
Live as brethren live;
Love be in each heart and mouth;
Be not envious, be not wroth,
Be not slow to give.
When ye build the nest
Quarrel not o'er straw or wool;
He who hath, be bountiful
To the neediest.
Be not puffed or vain
Of your beauty or your worth,
Of your children or your birth,
Or the praise you gain.
Eat not greedily:
Sometimes, for sweet mercy's sake,
Worm or insect spare to take;
Let it crawl or fly.
See ye sing not near
To our church on holy day,
Lest the human-folk should stray
From their prayer to hear.
Now depart in peace,
In God's name I bless each one;
May your days be long i' the sun
And your joys increase.
And remember me,
Your poor brother Francis, who
Loveth you, and thanketh you
For this courtesy.
Sometimes when ye sing,
Name my name, that He may take
Pity for the dear song's sake
On my shortcoming.
_Katharine Tynan Hinkson_
SHEEP AND LAMBS
All in the April morning,
April airs were abroad;
The sheep with their little lambs
Passed me by on the road.
The sheep with their little lambs
Passed me by on the road;
All in the April evening,
I thought on the Lamb of God.
The lambs were weary, and crying
With a weak human cry,
I thought on the Lamb of God
Going meekly to die.
Up in the blue, blue mountains
Dewy pastures are sweet:
Rest for the little bodies,
Rest for the little feet.
Rest for the Lamb of God
Up on the hill-top green,
Only a cross of shame
Two stark crosses between.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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