Nature
The Song of the Forest: IV
From Poems New and Old (1920)
I cannot syllable that unworded praise--
An ashen sapling bending in Thy wind,
Uplifting in Thy light new-budded leaves;
Nor for myself nor any other raise
My boughs in music, though the woodland heaves--
O with what ease of pain at length resigned,
What hope to the old inheritance restored!
Thy praise it is that men at last are glad.
Long unaccustomed brightness in their eyes
Needs must seem beautiful in thine, bright Lord,
And to forget the part that sorrow had
In every shadowed breast, where still it lies,
Is there not praise in such forgetfulness?
For to grieve less means not that love is less.
Cite this poem
MLA
Freeman, John. “The Song of the Forest: IV.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/freeman/15/.
Chicago
Freeman, John. “The Song of the Forest: IV.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/freeman/15/.
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