Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Song of the Woodsman

by Clarence Hawkes

SONG OF THE WOODSMAN

I hie me away to the forest old
On a winter's morn when the air is cold
And the white snow gleams in the morning sun
And every twig is a diamond,
The trees are' bending beneath the snow
That falls in showers as the cold winds blow,
A heavy load bears the evergreen
And scarce a leaf of the laurel is seen.

With a steady stroke at the tallest oak
The forest ever grows,
I'll 1ay it low in the gleaming snow
To music of my blows;
Then gaily sing while the woodlands ring
With echoes of the ax,
Though the trees are tall I'll conquer them all
And break their sturdy backs.

I take my stand by the lordly tree
That now hath stood full a century
And raised on high its majestic form
In the Summer breeze and the Winter's storm;
I measure it with a woodman's eye,
Its towering form 'gainst the Winter sky,
And choose the spot where the tree must fall
With a deafening crash, at the woodman's call.

With a steady stroke at the tallest oak
The forest ever grows,
I'll lay it low in the gleaming snow
To music of my blows;
Then gaily sing while the woodlands ring
With echoes of the ax,
Though the trees are tall I'll conquer them all
And break their sturdy backs.

The bright ax gleams as it goes up slow
And then it falls with a ringing blow,
The sharp blade sinks in the tender sap
And falling chips leave a bleeding gap,
And wide and deep grows the woodman's cut
As he hews away at the royal butt,
And one by one through the yearly rings
The bright ax sinks while the woodman sings.

With a steady stroke at the tallest oak
The forest ever grows,
I'll lay it low in the gleaming snow
To music of my blows;
Then gaily sing while the woodlands ring
To echoes of the ax,
Though the trees are tall I'll conquer them all
And break their sturdy backs.

A squirrel starts from his winter hole
Where he keeps house in a hollow bole
And views the stranger with curious eyes,
(And barks and chirps) as the ax he plies;
A snow-bird too from a distant limb
Flies down to take a peep at him,
And waits and chirps till the lunch hour comes,
Then makes a meal on the scattered crumbs.

With a steady stroke at the tallest oak
The forest ever grows,
I'll lay it low in the gleaming snow
To music of my blows;
Then gaily sing while the woodlands ring
To echoes of the ax.
Though the trees are tall I'll conquer them all
And break their sturdy backs.

And soon the woodsman with cautious eye
Will view the top in the steel-blue sky
To see if the tree has begun to lean,
Or if a stir in its twigs are seen;
Then comes a quake through the noble tree,
As though it writhed at its destiny,
And then a creak as the firm wood breaks,
And the monarch falls and the firm earth shakes.

With a steady stroke at the tallest oak
The forest ever grows,
I'll lay it low in the gleaming snow
To music of my blows;
Then gaily sing while the woodlands ring
With echoes of the ax,
Though the trees are tall I'll conquer them all
And break their sturdy backs.