George Meredith (1828-1909). Dirge in Woods. Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. 1922. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse

Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.

Dirge in Woods

By George Meredith (1828–1909)


A WIND sways the pines,
And below
Not a breath of wild air;
Still as the mosses that glow
On the flooring and over the lines	5
Of the roots here and there.
The pine-tree drops its dead;
They are quiet, as under the sea.
Overhead, overhead
Rushes life in a race,	10
As the clouds the clouds chase;
And we go,
And we drop like the fruits of the tree,
Even we,
Even so.	15