Gathers the clouds to prayer and silently

Utters his benediction on the waves

That whisper round the death-bed of the day.

The labourers were returning from the farms

And children danced to meet them. From the doors

Of cottages there came a pleasant clink

Where busy hands laid out the evening meal.

From smouldering elms around the village spire

There soared and sank the caw of gathering rooks.

The faint-flushed clouds were listening to the tale