The poplars are felled, farewell to the shade
And the whispering sound of the cool colonnade:
The winds play no longer and sing in the leaves,
Nor Ouse on his bosom their image receives.
Twelve years have elapsed since I first took a view
Of my favourite field, and the bank where they grew,
And now in the grass behold they are laid,
And the tree is my seat that once lent me a shade.
The blackbird has fled to another retreat
Where the hazels afford him a screen from the heat;
And the scene where his melody charmed me before
Resounds with his sweet-flowing ditty no more.
My fugitive years are all hasting away,
And I must ere long lie as lowly as they,
With a turf on my breast and a stone at my head,
Ere another such grove shall arise in its stead.
‘Tis a sight to engage me, if anything can,
To muse on the perishing pleasures of man;
Short-lived as we are, our enjoyments, I see,
Have a still shorter date, and die sooner than we.
(William Cowper)
More Poetry from William Cowper:
William Cowper Poems based on Topics: Man, Sense & Perception, Nature- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 1. (William Cowper Poems)
- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 3. (William Cowper Poems)
- A Poetical Epistle To Lady Austen (William Cowper Poems)
- Addressed To Miss Macartney, Afterwards Mrs. Greville, On Reading The Prayer For Indifference (William Cowper Poems)
- A Tale. June 1793 (William Cowper Poems)
- A Figurative Description Of The Procedure Of Divine Love (William Cowper Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, Nature Poems, Sense & Perception PoemsBased on Keywords: bank, date, lowly, melody, whispering, retreat, lent, sooner, screen, afford, twelve