HOPE held his hand and ran with him together.
Despair, the coward, at their coming fled.
Like a young ram, he shook his hornèd head,
And broke away from his restraining tether.
He loved the sea, he loved the cleansing flame;
No woman yet, his heart was all too young;
Over the plain of life his heart was flung,
Seeking for jeopardies that he might tame.
He cloaked his faith with laughter, but his faith
Was certain, as his confidence was gay,
And laughing went he, till on his last day
His hands stretched out to life were clasped by death.
FALLEN YOUTH
O redolent things most dear to Youth on earth,
Friendship of other men; the hunter’s horn;
The strong fatigue of practised limbs; the mirth
Of little birds in coppices and corn;
Work’s satisfaction; leisure’s bland delight;
The grateful sinking into sleep at night;
Speed, with the winds of heaven at your heels,
And grimy Power, and all you brilliant ones
That leap and sparkle ’mid the din of wheels,
A thousand little stars and little suns;
And streets of cities threatening the sky;
Cranes, wharves, and smoke in billows hanging high;
O stately Bridge, the country’s arching frame,
A needle’s eye to thread the river through;
Free ships, that rove and perish without fame;
Rich days of idleness, and soul that grew
Suddenly certain after doubting years,
And won through joy the wisdom lost through tears;
O Downs of Sussex, flowing swift and clean
Like stretchèd dogs along the English shore,
With cleanliness of athletes, and the lean
Brown flanks that course above the hare-belled floor;
O winds, that jangle all those little bells,
And tangle hair of nymphs in hidden dells;
O wandering Road, stranger and instant friend,—
For Youth a gipsy ever was at heart,—
Highway and packway, path with many a bend
That keep your mystery a thing of art;
O pools of friendly water; little lins;
O sudden views of country; wayside inns;
Labour of harvest; cider sweet and good;
Casual friends with tales of travel far;
Beauty of women; sunlight through a wood;
Companionable beasts; all things which are,
Weep for him! weep for Youth that laughed so bright,
Extravagantly fallen in the fight.