The trek and the laager again.
THE SEA-WIFE

There dwells a wife by the Northern Gate,
And a wealthy wife is she;

She breeds a breed o' rovin' men
And casts them over sea.

And some are drowned in deep water,
And some in sight o' shore,

And word goes back to the weary wife
And ever she sends more.

For since that wife had gate or gear,
Or hearth or garth or bield,

She willed her sons to the white harvest,
And that is a bitter yield.

She wills her sons to the wet ploughing,
To ride the horse of tree,

And syne her sons come back again
Far-spent from out the sea.

The good wife's sons come home again
With little into their hands,

But the lore of men that ha' dealt with men
In the new and naked lands;

But the faith of men that ha' brothered men
By more than easy breath,

And the eyes o' men that ha' read wi' men
In the open books of death.

Rich are they, rich in wonders seen,
But poor in the goods o' men;

So what they ha' got by the skin o' their teeth
They sell for their teeth again.

For whether they lose to the naked life
Or win to their hearts' desire,

They tell it all to the weary wife
That nods beside the fire.

Her hearth is wide to every wind
That makes the white ash spin;

And tide and tide and 'tween the tides
Her sons go out and in;

(Out with great mirth that do desire
Hazard of trackless ways,

In with content to wait their watch
And warm before the blaze);

And some return by failing light,
And some in waking dream,

For she hears the heels of the dripping ghosts
That ride the rough roof-beam.

Home, they come home from all the ports,
The living and the dead;

The good wife's sons come home again
For her blessing on their head!

HYMN BEFORE ACTION
The earth is full of anger,

The seas are dark with wrath,
The Nations in their harness

Go up against our path:
Ere yet we loose the legions --

Ere yet we draw the blade,
Jehovah of the Thunders,

Lord God of Battles, aid!
High lust and froward bearing,

Proud heart, rebellious brow --
Deaf ear and soul uncaring,

We seek Thy mercy now!
The sinner that forswore Thee,

The fool that passed Thee by,
Our times are known before Thee --

Lord, grant us strength to die!
For those who kneel beside us

At altars not Thine own,
Who lack the lights that guide us,

Lord, let their faith atone.
If wrong we did to call them,

By honour bound they came;
Let not Thy Wrath befall them,

But deal to us the blame.
From panic, pride, and terror,

Revenge that knows no rein,
Light haste and lawless error,

Protect us yet again.
Cloak Thou our undeserving,

Make firm the shuddering breath,
In silence and unswerving

To taste Thy lesser death!
Ah, Mary pierced with sorrow,

Remember, reach and save
The soul that comes to-morrow

Before the God that gave!
Since each was born of woman,

For each at utter need --
True comrade and true foeman --

Madonna, intercede!
E'en now their vanguard gathers,

E'en now we face the fray --
As Thou didst help our fathers,

Help Thou our host to-day!
Fulfilled of signs and wonders,

In life, in death made clear --
Jehovah of the Thunders,

Lord God of Battles, hear!
TO THE TRUE ROMANCE

Thy face is far from this our war,
Our call and counter-cry,

I shall not find Thee quick and kind,
Nor know Thee till I die,

Enough for me in dreams to see
And touch Thy garments' hem:

Thy feet have trod so near to God
I may not follow them.

Through wantonness if men profess
They weary of Thy parts,

E'en let them die at blasphemy
And perish with their arts;

But we that love, but we that prove
Thine excellence august,

While we adore discover more
Thee perfect, wise, and just.

Since spoken word Man's Spirit stirred
Beyond his belly-need,

What is is Thine of fair design
In thought and craft and deed;

Each stroke aright of toil and fight,
That was and that shall be,

And hope too high, wherefore we die,
Has birth and worth in Thee.

Who holds by Thee hath Heaven in fee
To gild his dross thereby,

And knowledge sure that he endure
A child until he die --

For to make plain that man's disdain
Is but new Beauty's birth --

For to possess in loneliness
The joy of all the earth.

As Thou didst teach all lovers speech
And Life all mystery,

So shalt Thou rule by every school
Till love and longing die,

Who wast or yet the Lights were set,
A whisper in the Void,

Who shalt be sung through planets young
When this is clean destroyed.

Beyond the bounds our staring rounds,
Across the pressing dark,

The children wise of outer skies
Look hitherward and mark

A light that shifts, a glare that drifts,
Rekindling thus and thus,

Not all forlorn, for Thou hast borne
Strange tales to them of us.

Time hath no tide but must abide
The servant of Thy will;

Tide hath no time, for to Thy rhyme
The ranging stars stand still --

Regent of spheres that lock our fears,
Our hopes invisible,

Oh 'twas certes at Thy decrees
We fashioned Heaven and Hell!

Pure Wisdom hath no certain path
That lacks thy morning-eyne,

And captains bold by Thee controlled
Most like to Gods design;

Thou art the Voice to kingly boys
To lift them through the fight,

And Comfortress of Unsuccess,
To give the dead good-night --

A veil to draw 'twixt God His Law
And Man's infirmity,

A shadow kind to dumb and blind
The shambles where we die;

A rule to trick th' arithmetic
Too base of leaguing odds --

The spur of trust, the curb of lust,
Thou handmaid of the Gods!

O Charity, all patiently
Abiding wrack and scaith!

O Faith, that meets ten thousand cheats
Yet drops no jot of faith!

Devil and brute Thou dost transmute
To higher, lordlier show,

Who art in sooth that lovely Truth
The careless angels know!

Thy face is far from this our war,
Our call and counter-cry,

I may not find Thee quick and kind,
Nor know Thee till I die.

Yet may I look with heart unshook
On blow brought home or missed --

Yet may I hear with equal ear
The clarions down the List;

Yet set my lance above mischance
And ride the barriere --

Oh, hit or miss, how little 'tis,
My Lady is not there!

THE FLOWERS
To our private taste, there is always something a little exotic,

almost artificial, in songs which, under an English aspect and dress,
are yet so manifestly the product of other skies. They affect us

like translations; the very fauna and flora are alien, remote;
the dog's-tooth violet is but an ill substitute for the rathe primrose,

nor can we ever believe that the wood-robin sings as sweetly in April
as the English thrush. -- THE ATHEN]AEUM.

Buy my English posies!

• wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)
• blessing [´blesiŋ] n.祝福 (初中英语单词)
• perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)
• spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• whisper [´wispə] v.耳语 n.低语；沙沙声 (初中英语单词)
• wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
• careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)
• artificial [,ɑ:ti´fiʃəl] a.人工的；模拟的 (初中英语单词)
• aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)
• affect [ə´fekt] vt.影响；感动；假装 (初中英语单词)
• violet [´vaiələt] n.&a.紫罗兰(的)；紫色 (初中英语单词)
• substitute [´sʌbstitju:t] n.代理人 v.代替，取代 (初中英语单词)
• hearth [hɑ:θ] n.炉边；家庭(生活) (高中英语单词)
• befall [bi´fɔ:l] v.降临；发表(于) (高中英语单词)
• longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)
• forlorn [fə´lɔ:n] a.被遗弃的；绝望的 (高中英语单词)
• charity [´tʃæriti] n.施舍；慈悲；博爱 (高中英语单词)
• sweetly [´swi:tli] ad.甜蜜地；美妙地 (高中英语单词)
• sinner [´sinə] n.罪人 (英语四级单词)
• lawless [´lɔ:ləs] a.无法无天的 (英语四级单词)
• lesser [´lesə] a.较小的；次要的 (英语四级单词)
• excellence [´eksələns] n.优秀；杰出；优点 (英语四级单词)
• wherefore [´weəfɔ:] ad.为什么；因此 (英语四级单词)
• kingly [´kiŋli] a.国王的 ad.国王似地 (英语四级单词)
• thrush [θrʌʃ] n.画眉鸟 (英语四级单词)
• rebellious [ri´beljəs] a.造反的；反叛的 (英语六级单词)
• manifestly [´mænifestli] ad.明显的 (英语六级单词)