Happy Country

Here by the bright blue creek the good ships lie
A-building, and the hammers beat and beat,
And the wood-smell is pleasant in the heat;
The strong ribs curve against the marsh and sky.
Here the old men are mowing in the sun,
And the hay-sweetness blends with the wild-rose;
At the field’s edge the scarlet lily glows;
The great clouds sail, and the swift shadows run,
And the broad undulant meadows gloom and smile;
Over the russet red-top warm winds pass,
The swallow swoops and swerves, the cattle stand
In the cool of shallow brooks--and all the while
Peace basks asleep, she dreams of some sad land
Leagues over sea, where youth is mown as grass.