Poem by Thomas Hardy

To the Moon

‘What have you looked at, Moon,
In your time,
Now long past your prime?’
‘O, I have looked at, often looked at
Sweet, sublime,
Sore things, shudderful, night and noon
In my time.’

‘What have you mused on, Moon,
In your day,
So aloof, so far away?’
‘O, I have mused on, often mused on
Growth, decay,
Nations alive, dead, mad, aswoon,
In my day!’

‘Have you much wondered, Moon,
On your rounds,
Self-wrapt, beyond Earth’s bounds?’
‘Yea, I have wondered, often wondered
At the sounds
Reaching me of the human tune
On my rounds.’

‘What do you think of it, Moon,
As you go?
Is Life much, or no?’
‘O, I think of it, often think of it
As a show
God ought surely to shut up soon,
As I go.’

1. Genitrix Laesa
2. Song from Heine
3. V.R. 1819–1901
4. Paths of Former Time
5. Over the Coffin

Walter Scott To the Moon ("Hail to thy cold and clouded beam")

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