Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether summer clothe the general earth
With greeness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.



Thursday, July 09, 2009

Evening



The evening comes, the fields are still.
The tinkle of the thirsty rill,
Unheard all day, ascends again;
Deserted is the half-mown plain,
Silent the swaths! the ringing wain,
The mower`s cry, the dog`s alarms,
All housed within the sleeping farms!



The business of the day is done,
The last-left haymaker is gone.
And from the thyme upon the height,
And from the elder-blossom white
And pale dog-roses in the hedge,
And from the mint-plant in the sedge,
In puffs of balm the night-air blows
The perfume which the day forgoes.


And on the pure horizon far,
See, pulsing with the first-born star,
The liquid sky above the hill!
The evening comes, the fields are still.

By Matthew Arnold

12 comments:

Gretel said...

What a beautiful poem! I just saw a related post, from Daisy Lupins poetry fest, I still miss her, how strange - and lovely - that her voice is here, as it were.

PAT said...

A beautiful poem, Rowan.

I enjoyed your previous post, too. The field of buttercups is so pretty! I enjoy your walks!

Wanda..... said...

Hi Rowan...
the sky photo suits the poem well...liquid sky...very peaceful poem you chose.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Just lovely - so perfect.

Granny Sue said...

Lovely. and perfect for this time of year, Rowan.

laoi gaul~williams said...

i love this
'the tinkle of the thirsty rill'...it makes me think of when i was young, playing down at my best friends farm

Unknown said...

Hi Rowan,

Beautiful poem and one that shows how wonderful consecutive rhyming lines can be!

I notice the music widget has gone (aaww) and my screen didn't freeze. Thanks!

Lynda (Granny K) said...

So descriptive. I loved it. Thank you Rowan!

Rosie said...

What a wonderfully, atmospheric poem - I can feel the stillness of the evening after the busy day's work on the farm and catch the scents in the warm evening air. Thankyou:)

Julie said...

Beautiful photos and beautiful poem. both quintessential English (at least to my American mind!)

Ragged Roses said...

What a beautiful poem. It has been a week or so since we experienced beautiful Summer evenings here, I do hope they return, we have gone fast forward to a chllly Autumn ...
Kimx

Anonymous said...

It is really impressive when the same verse is repeated both in the beginning and in the end of the poem: The evening comes, the fields are still... This is the message of the poem, isn't it? The stillness.
The pictures supplement the atmosphere of the poem perfectly.