Themes and Variations/Esther's Home
A BOOK OF SKETCHES.
A Book of Sketches.
ESTHER’S HOME.
A pleasant place, half country and half town,
A nook of England under happier skies,
With whiter peaks to circle field and down,
And darker forests’ wilder harmonies.
A nook of England under happier skies,
With whiter peaks to circle field and down,
And darker forests’ wilder harmonies.
High overhead, the sky, in azure bloom,
Opens a calyx of unclouded light;
How green the turf is in this forest-room,
With dust of English daisies powdered white.
Opens a calyx of unclouded light;
How green the turf is in this forest-room,
With dust of English daisies powdered white.
The rivulet, twittering under roofs of fern,
Has caught our English tune; and far above
The skylarks, with a joy we cannot learn,
Repeat the same millennial song of love.
Has caught our English tune; and far above
The skylarks, with a joy we cannot learn,
Repeat the same millennial song of love.
And here’s the house; five fir trees stand aloof;
It hides in ivy over head and ears;
A flock of roses ’lights upon the roof,
And honeysuckle round the chimney peers.
It hides in ivy over head and ears;
A flock of roses ’lights upon the roof,
And honeysuckle round the chimney peers.