The oppressive heat in my room made me walk out on to the terrace for a walk. The moment I stepped out I was bathed in the soft glow of an almost-full moon. It was almost like a switch has been flipped in the heavens and a light came on. It was beautiful. I have always loved gazing at the sky, the stars and the moon. And today too, I stood captivated by that magnetic silver face. My mood and the stillness around me is perfectly expressed by my choice for Versedays this week, which is Silver by Walter de la Mare. Although more known for his adventure novels like Ivanhoe, de la Mare also spun some dulcet lines, and Silver is one of his most well-loved works. Enjoy this smooth, evocative poem, which just brought the moonlit night alive for me through its imagery.
Silver
by
Walter de la Mare
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver feathered sleep
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
by
Walter de la Mare
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep
Of doves in silver feathered sleep
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.
Oh how nice that you have read this before! :) I loved the imagery in the poem too...
ReplyDelete