The Earthly Paradise a Poem Pts 1 Author:William Morris General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1870 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: SEPTEMBER. OCOME at last, to whom the spring-tide's hope Looked for through blossoms, what hast thou for me ? Green grows the grass upon the dewy slope Beneath thy gold-hung, grey-leaved apple-tree Moveless, e'en as the autumn fain would be That shades its sad eyes from the rising sun And weeps at eve because the day is done. What vision wilt thou give me, autumn morn, To make thy pensive sweetness more complete ? What tale, ne'er to be told, of folk unborn ? What images of grey-clad damsels sweet Shall cross thy sward with dainty noiseless feet ? What nameless shamefast longings made alive Soft-eyed September will thy sad heart give ? Look long, O longing eyes, and look in vain ! Strain idly, aching heart, and yet be wise, And hope no more for things to come again That thou beheldest once with careless eyes ! Like a new-wakened man thou art, who tries To dream again the dream that made him glad When in his arms his loving love he had. MID young September's fruit-trees next they met, With calm hearts, willing such things to forget As men had best forget; and certainly E'en such a day it was when this might be If e'er it might be; fair, without a cloud, Yet windless, so that a grey haze did shroud The bright blue; neither burning overmuch, Nor chill, the blood of those old folk to touch With fretful, restless memory of despair. Withal no promise of the fruitful year Seemed unfulfilled in that fair autumn-tide ; The level ground along the river-side Was merry through the day with sounds of those Who gathered apples; o'er the stream arose ...« less