Lesson:

1. Before the stout harvesters falleth the grain,


As when the strong storm wind is reaping the plain,


And loiters the boy in the briery lane;


But yonder aslant comes the silvery rain,


Like a long line of spears brightly burnished and tall.





2. Adown the white highway like cavalry fleet,


It dashes the dust with its numberless feet.


Like a murmurless school, in their leafy retreat,


The wild birds sit listening the drops round them beat;


And the boy crouches close to the blackberry wall.





3. The swallows alone take the storm on the wing,


And, taunting the tree-sheltered laborers, sing.


Like pebbles the rain breaks the face of the spring,


While a bubble darts up from each widening ring;


And the boy in dismay hears the loud shower fall.





4. But soon are the harvesters tossing their sheaves;


The robin darts out from his bower of leaves;


The wren peereth forth from the moss-covered eaves;


And the rain-spattered urchin now gladly perceives


That the beautiful bow bendeth over them all.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Thomas Buchanan Head was born in Chester Co., Pa., March 12, 1822.


His life was devoted to the fine arts, and he attained a high reputation both as artist and poet.


He died in New York, May 11, 1872.





DEFINITIONS


1. Aslant: Toward one side.


2. Highway: A public road.


2. Retreat: A place of refuge or safety.


2. Crouches: Stoops low.


3. Taunting: Deriding, mocking.


4. Urchin: A child.