| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | December 9 | | Milton | | By Ernest Myers (1844–1921) |
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HE left the upland lawns and serene air | |
| Wherefrom his soul her noble nurture drew, | |
| And reared his helm among the unquiet crew | |
| Battling beneath; the morning radiance rare | |
| Of his young brow amid the tumult there | 5 |
| Grew grim with sulphurous dust and sanguine dew; | |
| Yet through all soilure they who marked him knew | |
| The signs of his life’s dayspring, calm and fair. | |
| But when peace came, peace fouler far than war, | |
| And mirth more dissonant than battle’s tone, | 10 |
| He, with a scornful sigh of his clear soul, | |
| Back to his mountain clomb, now bleak and frore, | |
| And with the awful Night he dwelt alone, | |
| In darkness, listening to the thunder’s roll. | | | | |
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