Friday, September 21, 2012

Poetry Friday: A Passing Hail




A Passing Hail
By James Whitcomb Riley

Let us rest ourselves a bit!
Worry?-- wave your hand to it --
Kiss your finger-tips and smile
It farewell a little while.

Weary of the weary way
We have come from Yesterday,
Let us fret not, instead,
Of the wary way ahead.

Let us pause and catch our breath
On the hither side of death,
While we see the tender shoots
Of the grasses -- not the roots,--

While we yet look down -- not up --
To seek out the buttercup
And the daisy where they wave
O'er the green home of the grave.

Let us launch us smoothly on
The soft billows of the lawn,
And drift out across the main
Of our childish dreams again:

Voyage off, beneath the trees,
O'er the field's enchanted seas,
Where the lilies are our sails,
And our sea-gulls, nightingales:

Where no wilder storm shall beat
Than the wind that waves the wheat,
And no tempest-burst above
The old laughs we used to love:

Lose all troubles -- gain release,
Languor, and exceeding peace,
Cruising idly o'er the vast,
Calm mid-ocean of the Past.

Let us rest ourselves a bit!
Worry? -- Wave your hand to it --
Kiss your finger-tips and smile
It fare well a little while. 



All I can manage this week is a passing hail. If I could pick the place to sit with you and rest ourselves a bit, it might be Winan's Chocolates in German Village. Doesn't get much better than that...unless you are in Belgium, of course!



Renee continues the candy theme with a yummy array of Poetry Friday posts at No Water River.

14 comments:

  1. I wish you a cool pillow and a sweet weekend, Mary Lee. This one's going into my notebook - thank you! a.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "While we yet look down -- not up/To seek out the buttercup."

    Ha, awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ooohlala, chocolates. That's relaxing in style indeed. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is just the poem I needed! Thanks for getting us ready for a great weekend of lovely fall weather. I am pulling up a chair and spending some time sitting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I feel so much more relaxed after reading that poem.
    "Weary of the weary way
    We have come from Yesterday,
    Let us fret not, instead,
    Of the wary way ahead."
    A sweet reminder to enjoy the day.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A good reminder for me this week - that I'm looking at shoots not roots - and to be thankful for that! "Lose all troubles--gain release." Ah, yes1

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's good to be reminded... And yes, let's stop and enjoy some chocolate :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sigh -- what a refreshing, uplifting poem and of course those chocolates will fix anything. It's been an extra sweet PF with all the candy being offered :). Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the third stanza. Image was dead-on ...

    Thanks, Mary Lee!

    -Ed

    ReplyDelete
  10. Alright friend we have our next meeting place- I love chocolate and I have never have been there. Let me know when :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mary Lee, I went to share this and noticed your permalink URL extension is a bit strange: "http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2012/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html".

    ReplyDelete
  12. This I will put somewhere, to see often! Thanks Mary Lee. "Let us rest ourselves a bit!
    Worry? -- Wave your hand to it --"

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ah, this one says it all. Time to put up my feet and have a few bon-bons as I savor the language in this poem. Love that buttercup line.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ooooh - yes, this is such a lovely offering. My favorite lines are: "Where no wilder storm shall beat / Than the wind that waves the wheat."

    And thanks for more chocolate - what a sweet Poetry Friday this has been!

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.