THEY have wandered in their glee With the butterfly and bee; They have climbed o'er heathery swells, They have wound through forest dells; Mountain-moss hath felt their tread, Woodland streams their way have led; Flowers, in deepest shadowy nooks, Nurslings of the loneliest brooks, Unto them have yielded up Fragrant bell and starry cup: Chaplets are on every brow -- What hath staid the wanderers now? Lo! a gray and rustic tomb, Bowered amidst the rich wood-gloom; Whence these words their stricken spirits melt, -- "I too, Shepherds! in Arcadia dwelt." There is many a summer sound That pale sepulchre around; Through the shade young birds are glancing, Insect-wings in sun-streaks dancing; Glimpses of blue festal skies Pouring in when soft winds rise; Violets o'er the turf below Shedding out their warmest glow; Yet a spirit not its own O'er the greenwood now is thrown! Something of an under-note Through its music seems to float, Something of a stillness gray Creeps across the laughing day: Something dimly from those old words felt, -- "I too, Shepherds! in Arcadia dwelt." Was some gentle kindred maid In that grave with dirges laid? Some fair creature, with the tone Of whose voice a joy is gone, Leaving melody and mirth Poorer on this altered earth? Is it thus? that so they stand, Dropping flowers from every hand -- Flowers, and lyres, and gathered store Of red wild-fruit prized no more? -- No! from that bright band of morn Not one link hath yet been torn: 'Tis the shadow of the tomb Falling o'er the summer-bloom -- O'er the flush of love and life Passing with a sudden strife; 'Tis the low prophetic breath Murmuring from that house of death, Whose faint whisper thus their hearts can melt, -- "I too, Shepherds! in Arcadia dwelt." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...UNCLE JIM'S BAPTIST REVIVAL HYMN by SIDNEY LANIER DEAF HOUSE AGENT by KATHERINE MANSFIELD THE STRAPLESS by KAREN SWENSON A LITTLE BOY LOST, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE BY THE ALMA RIVER by DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK ULYSSES AND THE SIREN by SAMUEL DANIEL |