A Prayer in Sping
by Robert Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in midair stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in midair stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.
For more poems by Robert Frost, and other poets, you may click the 'Poems' tab under the blog header photo.
Love this poem and can't wait to share it with my girl who turns 15 today and loves Robert Frost. Perfect birthday gift.
ReplyDeleteAh, the lovely flowers. From your house?
ReplyDeleteOh, Sarah that is just wonderful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteKay, yes - pear blossoms. They smell wonderful. We have two small trees. We never get pears, but the flowers are enough.
Nan, I love that poem! Thanks for stopping by my blog today. To answer your question about the color of the paint in the Dining Room, I really don't know. The previous owner painted it. I will see if the paint cans they left in the garage is one for the Dining Room. The wainscoting is pure white. The blue is like a robin egg blue. Have fun choosing colors for your room!
ReplyDeleteSherri, that's close enough. Please don't bother prowling around for paint names. :<) I've been seriously thinking of blue walls and bright white casements for the kitchen, and your room looks just great.
ReplyDeleteI lovely gift to garnish the day, a poem from a favorite poet of mine and your lush blossoms as well, which I see are pear. The flowering fruit trees have been so beautiful this year in the midwest, and it looks to be the same where you are, Nan.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you posted this Nan. It has lifted my heart on this gloomy cool windy spring day.
ReplyDeleteLove Robert Frost! We have had a harsh winter and now a wet spring. Bring on some good stuff, Mother Nature!
ReplyDeleteOh, lovely lovely poem! Thankyou!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem to start the morning - thanks!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine, Susan Todd, knew Frost in his last years - and she and another friend, Carol Purington, have just published an anthology of poetry titled Morning Song: Poems for New Parents. It includes a couple of Frost poems as well as poetry by Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and so many others like the prize winning Richard Wilbur who lives in our neighborhood. Obviously many of these poems were not written to encourage or give words to the feelings of parents, but when read through this lens they do gain a different power. I hope you will get a copy. It is a beautiful beautiful book - even for old parents. It makes a great gift for new parents.
ReplyDeletePenny, I love your choice of word - 'garnish' -so very nice. Thank you. It is a good season for flowering fruits. We've had rather a cool, rainy/cloudy spring which has been just right for all the spring flowers. They last longer than if it were sunny and warm.
ReplyDeleteLisa, that's what most every day is like around here, but it is SO green!
Mare, same here, but as I wrote to Penny above, I think there are more flowers and they are lasting longer than if the weather were sunnier. So, that makes it worth it to me!
Katherine, he is really wonderful. Each time I read Frost I am in awe of his gift.
JoAnn, and I thank you for saying that!
Pat, thank you, thank you for telling me about this. It sounds wonderful.
Oh so lovely! We went to Vermont on our first RV trip (for the leaves) and just stumbled upon Robert Frost's memorial there -- a fond memory.
ReplyDeleteYou have illustrated the wonderful poem perfectly here. Thank you.
Sallie, maybe on a future trip to the northeast you could visit the neighboring state, and see one of his homes:
ReplyDeletehttp://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2007/08/further-afieldpoetry-reading.html
It is open to the public and offers poetry all summer.
http://www.frostplace.org/