Poems (Tynan)/The Tree's Double
THE TREE'S DOUBLE
How beautiful the tree shadows he on
The paler green o' the grasses!
October wind stirs them a little and passes,
Cloud-shadows sail above them and are gone.
The paler green o' the grasses!
October wind stirs them a little and passes,
Cloud-shadows sail above them and are gone.
The trees are like a golden fountain's spray,
Like golden waters raining.
When the October skies and ways are waning,
The trees alone have the heart to be gay.
Like golden waters raining.
When the October skies and ways are waning,
The trees alone have the heart to be gay.
Yet there 's a blue sky, and the sun is gold,
A gold tree and a bird in it,
A Jenny Wren or a belated linnet,
Singing away though all the nests are cold.
A gold tree and a bird in it,
A Jenny Wren or a belated linnet,
Singing away though all the nests are cold.
The tree upon the grass has a bird's shadow,
As the live tree its bird,
Shadow and substance joyfully praise the Lord
As well as when the world was all a meadow.
As the live tree its bird,
Shadow and substance joyfully praise the Lord
As well as when the world was all a meadow.
And when the living tree rocks at its pleasure
Its bird in frolic glee,
The shadow bird within the shadow-tree
Dances upon the grass to the same measure.
Its bird in frolic glee,
The shadow bird within the shadow-tree
Dances upon the grass to the same measure.