Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Poems for Summer

George Dunlap Leslie (1879)
The following poem was written by Oxford alum, mathematician, and author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.  For more poems set in the summer, visit http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20043






A Boat, Beneath a Sunny Sky

 
A boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July—

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear—

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream—
Lingering in the golden gleam—
Life, what is it but a dream?
Photochrome print (1890-1900) Magdalen Tower from the river in Oxford
 
 

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