Nature

A Fragment

by George MacDonald 1824–1905

From The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2

Nature

When the cock crows loud from the glen,
And the moor-cock chirrs from the heather,
What hear ye and see ye then,
Ye children of air and ether?

1_st Echo_.
A thunder as of waves at the rising of the moon,
And a darkness on the graves though the day is at its noon.

2nd Echo. A springing as of grass though the air is damp and chill,
And a glimmer from the river that winds about the hill.

1st Echo. A lapse of crags that leant from the mountain's earthen
sheath,
And a shock of ruin sent on the river underneath.

2nd Echo. A sound as of a building that groweth fair and good,
And a piping of the thrushes from the hollow of the wood.

1st Echo. A wailing as of lambs that have wandered from the flock,
And a bleating of their dams that was answered from the rock.

2nd Echo. A breathing as of cattle in the shadow where they dream,
And a sound of children playing with the pebbles in the stream.

1st Echo. A driving as of clouds in the kingdom of the air,
And a tumult as of crowds that mingle everywhere.

2nd Echo. A waving of the grass, and a passing o'er the lakes,
And a shred of tempest-cloud in the glory when it breaks.

MLA

MacDonald, George. “A Fragment.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/macdonald/190/.

Chicago

MacDonald, George. “A Fragment.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/macdonald/190/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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