Sunshine and shower be with you, bud and
bell!
For two months now in vain we shall be
sought;
We leave you here in solitude to dwell
With these our latest gifts of tender
thought; 20
Thou, like the morning, in thy saffron
coat,
Bright gowan, and marsh-marigold, farewell!
Whom from the borders of the Lake we brought,
And placed together near our rocky Well.
We go for One to whom ye will be dear;
25
And she will prize this Bower, this Indian
shed,
Our own contrivance, Building without
peer!
—A gentle Maid, whose heart is lowly bred,
Whose pleasures are in wild fields gathered,
With joyousness, and with a thoughtful
cheer, 30
Will come [3] to you; to you herself will
wed;
And love the blessed life that [4] we
lead here.
Dear Spot! which we have watched with
tender heed,
Bringing thee chosen plants and blossoms
blown
Among the distant mountains, flower and
weed, 35
Which thou hast taken to thee as thy own.
Making all kindness registered and known;
Thou for our sakes, though Nature’s
child indeed,
Fair in thyself and beautiful alone,
Hast taken gifts which thou dost little
need. 40
And O most constant, yet most fickle Place,
That hast thy wayward moods, as thou dost
show
To them who look not daily on [5] thy
face;
Who, being loved, in love no bounds dost
know,
And say’st, when we forsake thee,
“Let them go!” 45
Thou easy-hearted Thing, with thy wild
race
Of weeds and flowers, till we return be
slow,
And travel with the year at a soft pace.
Help us to tell Her tales of years gone
by,
And this sweet spring, the best beloved
and best; 50
Joy will be flown in its mortality;
Something must stay to tell us of the
rest.
Here, thronged with primroses, the steep
rock’s breast
Glittered at evening like a starry sky;
And in this bush our sparrow built her
nest, 55
Of which I sang [6] one song that will
not die. [A]
O happy Garden! whose seclusion deep
Hath been so friendly to industrious hours;
And to soft slumbers, that did gently
steep
Our spirits, carrying with them dreams
of flowers, 60
And wild notes warbled among leafy bowers;
Two burning months let summer overleap,
And, coming back with Her who will be
ours,
Into thy bosom we again shall creep.
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
And safely she will ride ... 1815.
... will she ... 1832.]
[Variant 2:
1836.
... that decorate our door 1815.]