The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy

The Darkling Thrush
by
Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate

When Frost was spectre-grey,

And Winter's dregs made desolate

The weakening eye of day.

The tangled bine-stems scored the sky

Like strings of broken lyres,

And all mankind that haunted nigh

Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be

The Century's corpse outleant,

His crypt the cloudy canopy,

The wind his death-lament.

The ancient pulse of germ and birth

Was shrunken hard and dry,

And every spirit upon earth

Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among

The bleak twigs overhead

In a full-hearted evensong

Of joy illimited;

An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,

In blast-beruffled plume,

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings

Of such ecstatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

Afar or nigh around,

That I could think there trembled through

His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

This poem is in the public domain.

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928) was an English writer who always considered himself a poet, although during his lifetime, his notoriety came from his novels. Even today, his novels (Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd, and Jude the Obscure, for example) are far better known than his poems. Thomas trained and worked as an architect before turning to writing; his attention to detail and his love of the natural world are obvious in his works’ lush descriptions of England’s country settings. Thomas left behind a huge and fascinating body of work, including poetry collections, novels, short stories, and plays.

Jancan:
Yes, on the dreariest of days, we will find something beautiful if we wish to. What a beautiful choice for the day! Janice
Posted 01/03/2017 01:10 PM

Gilbert Allen:
When has pessimism ever seemed so consoling? At least one of those "broken lyres" gets restrung by the end of the poem!
Posted 01/03/2017 08:22 AM

KevinArnold:
Best read aloud--comes to life on the sounds.
Posted 01/03/2017 07:55 AM

Larry Schug:
Excellent poem, Mr. Hardy. Let us all follow your advice and "fling his soul upon the growing gloom".
Posted 01/03/2017 07:22 AM

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