Robert Bridges, ed. (1844–1930). The Spirit of Man: An Anthology. 1916. | | | | From The Solitary Reaper |
William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | BEHOLD 1 her, single in the field, | |
| Yon solitary Highland Lass! | |
| Reaping and singing by herself; | |
| Stop here, or gently pass! | |
| Alone she cuts and binds the grain, | 5 |
| And sings a melancholy strain; | |
| O listen! for the Vale profound | |
| Is overflowing with the sound. | |
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| No Nightingale did ever chaunt | |
| More welcome notes to weary bands | 10 |
| Of travellers in some shady haunt, | |
| Among Arabian sands: | |
| A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard | |
| In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, | |
| Breaking the silence of the seas | 15 |
| Among the farthest Hebrides. | |
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| Will no one tell me what she sings?— | |
| Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow | |
| For old, unhappy, far-off things, | |
| And battles long ago: | 20 |
| Or is it some more humble lay, | |
| Familiar matter of to-day? | |
| Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, | |
| That has been, and may be again? … | |
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