And now, when merry winds do blow,
And rain makes trees look fresh,
An overpowering staleness holds
This mortal flesh.
Though well I love to feel the rain,
And be by winds well blown —
The mystery of mortal life
Doth press me down.
And, In this mood, come now what will,
Shine Rainbow, Cuckoo call;
There is no thing in Heaven or Earth
Can lift my soul.
I know not where this state comes from —
No cause for grief I know;
The Earth around is fresh and green,
Flowers near me grow.
I sit between two fair rose trees;
Red roses on my right,
And on my left side roses are
A lovely white.
The little birds are full of joy,
Lambs bleating all the day;
The colt runs after the old mare,
And children play.
And still there comes this dark, dark hour —
Which is not borne of Care;
Into my heart it creeps before
I am aware.
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A wonderful poem – for me it seems to describe a valley between wars – very apt at this election time . .( The War of the Roses ) Which religious rose will eventually bloom to advantage – Better yet will one day a knowledgeable public forget the confusion of the selfish clerics prophets and priests – and chose a bouquet encompassing of one God rather than comparing this or that fragrance – Albert.
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Great poem. I loved the concept of contrasting the light and dark in the world. Very nice.
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just because you can pick a poem apart line by line doesn't make you smart. it is a very nice poem.
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Very nice Work Good job
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This line stands out the most to me:
There is no thing in Heaven or Earth
Particularly the 'no thing' part. I mean it could work as 'nothing' just as well or perhaps even better than 'no thing' but I feel there's more cause and effect with the 'no thing' than having 'nothing' there insteand.
That part just stands out to me.
The roses as well stand out to me, red and white roses, they say that each flower especially roses have meanings to them, have different types of emotions, and I feel these two roses are playing that part in this piece.
It's a good piece that Davies has written here, this is one to read not once but at least twice in one's life (unless of course you're a fan of Davies then read it as much as one wishes ..)
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My first interpretation of this work is that it describes ones lack of understanding of how things can be well yet they can feel so down. In other words depressed. However in reading it again there is definitely a question being asked in between the lines. In line 7 William seems to be asking about life its self, however I believe its not just life that he is asking about but maybe the emotional states that he talks about in lines 9,14,25. Then again the last stanza is quite equipped to be describing death. Line 25 being the hour of death and 26 expressing that death picks indiscriminately and lastly 27 and 28 death happens and you cant perceive it. So my final concept of this poem is that William is expressing his confusion in the matters of death.
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Johnathan
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