Robin Redbreast
July 6, 2023In a Spring Grove
July 6, 2023Meadowsweet
Through grass, through amber’d cornfields, our slow Stream–
Fringed with its flags and reeds and rushes tall,
And Meadowsweet, the chosen of them all
By wandering children, yellow as the cream
Of those great cows–winds on as in a dream
By mill and footbridge, hamlet old and small
(Red roofs, gray tower), and sees the sunset gleam
On mullion’d windows of an ivied Hall.
There, once upon a time, the heavy King
Trod out its perfume from the Meadowsweet,
Strown like a woman’s love beneath his feet,
In stately dance or jovial banqueting,
When all was new; and in its wayfaring
Our Streamlet curved, as now, through grass and wheat.
William Allingham
William Allingham (1824-1889) was an Irish poet and editor who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He is known for his use of traditional poetic forms and for his exploration of themes of nature and love. His most famous works include "The Faeries" and "The Flower-Show." Allingham was also a close friend of many of the leading Victorian writers and artists, including Alfred Lord Tennyson and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.