Shadows (Howe)/Interpretation
INTERPRETATION
HESE gentle lines of Nature's faceAre like a living face I love,
And keen mine eyes have grown to trace
What signs soe'er across it move.
To stranger eyes a peace serene
Broods over all, from east to west;
For them 'tis as a painted scene;
For me it quivers with unrest.
Broods over all, from east to west;
For them 'tis as a painted scene;
For me it quivers with unrest.
Now on the waters something stirs—
A sail, a breeze, a flotsam thing;
Now from the point of junipers
The birds fly out on seaward wing.
A sail, a breeze, a flotsam thing;
Now from the point of junipers
The birds fly out on seaward wing.
Across the fields slow creatures stray,
The shadows up the hillside run;
And lo! through all the changeful day
The miracles of wind and sun.
The shadows up the hillside run;
And lo! through all the changeful day
The miracles of wind and sun.
The signal colors of the year
Are mine to watch with heedful eye;
The gradual seasons drawing near
Claim vigilance and constancy.
Are mine to watch with heedful eye;
The gradual seasons drawing near
Claim vigilance and constancy.
Unseen or clear the changes fall,
And Nature's face that seems so still
Is full of motion mystical
And boding signs for good or ill.
And Nature's face that seems so still
Is full of motion mystical
And boding signs for good or ill.
But ah! the spirit hid within—
When shall I learn its ways to trace?
The subtler skill when shall I win,
And learn to read that living face?
When shall I learn its ways to trace?
The subtler skill when shall I win,
And learn to read that living face?