Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MENDHAM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I know--I know
Last Line: And the hedges are all in bud.
Subject(s): Christmas; Nativity, The


I know -- I know
Where the green leaves grow,
When the woods without are bare;
Where a sweet perfume
Of the woodland's bloom
Is afloat on the winter air!
When tempest strong
Hath howled along,
With his war-whoop wild and loud,
Till the broad ribs broke
Of the forest oak,
And his crown of glory bowed;
I know -- I know
Where the green leaves grow,
Though the groves without are bare,
Where the branches nod
Of the trees of God,
And wild vines flourish fair.

I know -- I know
Where blossoms blow
The earliest of the year;
Where the passion-flower
With a mystic power
Its thorny crown doth rear;
Where crocus breathes
And fragrant wreathes
Like a censer fill the gale;
Where cowslips burst
To beauty first,
And the lily of the vale:
And snow-drops white;
And pansies bright
As Joseph's colored vest;
And laurel-tod
From the woods of God,
Where the wild-bird builds her nest.

I know -- I know
Where the waters flow
In a marble font and nook,
When the frost sprite
In his strange delight
Hath fettered the brawling brook;
When the dancing stream
With its broken gleam
Is locked in its rocky bed;
And the sing-song fret
Of the rivulet
Is hush as the melted lead;
Oh then I know
Where the waters flow
As fresh as the spring-time flood,
When the spongy sod
Of the fields of God
And the hedges are all in bud.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net