Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OX, by GIOSUE CARDUCCI


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OX, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I love thee, pious ox; a gentle feeling
Last Line: All the divine green silence of the plain.
Subject(s): Animals; Oxen


I LOVE thee, pious ox; a gentle feeling
Of vigor and of peace thou giv'st my heart.
How solemn, like a monument, thou art!
Over wide fertile fields thy calm gaze stealing,
Unto the yoke with grave contentment kneeling,
To man's quick work thou dost thy strength impart.
He shouts and goads, and answering thy smart,
Thou turn'st on him thy patient eyes appealing.
From thy broad nostrils, black and wet, arise
Thy breath's soft fumes; and on the still air swells,
Like happy hymn, thy lowing's mellow strain.
In the grave sweetness of thy tranquil eyes
Of emerald, broad and still reflected dwells
All the divine green silence of the plain.




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