“THIS LAWN, A CARPET ALL ALIVE”
THIS Lawn, a carpet all alive With shadows flung from leaves–to strive In dance, amid a press Of sunshine, an apt emblem yields Of Worldlings revelling in the fields Of strenuous idleness; Less quick the stir when tide and breeze Encounter, and to narrow seas Forbid a moment’s rest; The medley less when boreal Lights 10 Glance to and fro, like aery Sprites To feats of arms addrest! Yet, spite of all this eager strife, This ceaseless play, the genuine life That serves the stedfast hours, Is in the grass beneath, that grows Unheeded, and the mute repose Of sweetly-breathing flowers. 1829.