Thomas Hardy

The Voice of the Thorn

I

When the thorn on the down
Quivers naked and cold,
And the mid-aged and old
Pace the path there to town,
In these words dry and drear
It seems to them sighing:
‘O winter is trying
To sojourners here!’

II

When it stands fully tressed
On a hot summer day,
And the ewes there astray
Find its shade a sweet rest,
By the breath of the breeze
It inquires of each farer:
‘Who would not be sharer
Of shadow with these?’

III

But by day or by night,
And in winter or summer,
Should I be the comer
Along that lone height,
In its voicing to me
Only one speech is spoken:
‘Here once was nigh broken
A heart, and by thee.’