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Home  »  The Oxford Book of English Verse  »  673. The Plough A LANDSCAPE IN BERKSHIRE

Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.

Richard Henry Horne. 1803–1884

673. The Plough A LANDSCAPE IN BERKSHIRE

ABOVE yon sombre swell of land 
  Thou see’st the dawn’s grave orange hue, 
With one pale streak like yellow sand, 
  And over that a vein of blue. 
 
The air is cold above the woods;         5
  All silent is the earth and sky, 
Except with his own lonely moods 
  The blackbird holds a colloquy. 
 
Over the broad hill creeps a beam, 
  Like hope that gilds a good man’s brow;  10
And now ascends the nostril-stream 
  Of stalwart horses come to plough. 
 
Ye rigid Ploughmen, bear in mind 
  Your labour is for future hours: 
Advance—spare not—nor look behind—  15
  Plough deep and straight with all your powers!