A Summer Wish

1862

Live all thy sweet life thro',Sweet Rose, dew-sprent,Drop down thine evening dewTo gather it anewWhen day is bright:I fancy thou wast meantChiefly to give delight.

Sing in the silent sky,Glad soaring bird;Sing out thy notes on highTo sunbeam straying byOr passing cloud;Heedless if thou art heardSing thy full song aloud.

Oh that it were with meAs with the flower;Blooming on its own treeFor butterfly and beeIts summer morns:That I might bloom mine hourA rose in spite of thorns.

Oh that my work were doneAs birds' that soarRejoicing in the sun:That when my time is runAnd daylight too,I so might rest once moreCool with refreshing dew.

From Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), via the English Wikisource transcription.

Public domainThis poem is in the public domain. You may read it, copy it, recite it and publish it without asking anyone.