To the Grasshopper and the Cricket / Leigh Hunt

To the Grasshopper and the Cricket

Green little vaulter in the sunny grass,
Catching your heart up at the feel of June,
Sole voice that’s heard amidst the lazy noon,
When ev'n the bees lag at the summoning brass;
And you, warm little housekeeper, who class
With those who think the candles come too soon,
Loving the fire, and with your tricksome tune
Nick the glad silent moments as they pass;

O sweet and tiny cousins, that belong,
One to the fields, the other to the hearth,
Both have your sunshine; both, though small, are strong
At your clear hearts; and both seem giv'n to earth
To ring in thoughtful ears this natural song —
In doors and out, summer and winter, Mirth.

~~
Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
from Poetical Works, 1832

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Leigh Hunt biography

"To the Grashopper and Cricket" recite by Zither P. Oxblood. Courtesy Graveyard Poetry.

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See also: "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket," by John Keats

May and the Poets / Leigh Hunt

from To May

May and the Poets

    There is May in books forever;
May will part from Spenser never;
May’s in Milton, May’s in Prior,
May’s in Chaucer, Thomson, Dyer;
May’s in all the Italian books;

She has old and modern nooks
Where she sleeps with nymphs and elves,
In happy places they call shelves,
And will rise and dress your rooms
With a drapery thick with blooms.

    Come, ye rains, then if ye will,
May’s at home, and with me still;
But come rather, thou, good weather,
And find us in the fields together.

~~
Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
from Poetical Works, 1857

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Leigh Hunt biography

"May and the Poets" read courtesy Ear Read This.

A Night Rain in Summer / Leigh Hunt

A Night Rain in Summer 

Open the window, and let the air
Freshly blow upon face and hair,
And fill the room, as it fills the night,
With the breath of the rain's sweet might.
Hark! the burthen, swift and prone!
And how the odorous limes are blown!
Stormy Love's abroad, and keeps
Hopeful coil for gentle sleeps.

Not a blink shall burn to-night
In my chamber, of sordid light;
Nought will I have, not a window-pane,
'Twixt me and the air and the great good rain,
Which ever shall sing me sharp lullabies;
And God's own darkness shall close mine eyes;
And I will sleep, with all things blest,
In the pure earth-shadow of natural rest.

~~
Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
from Poetical Works, 1860

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Leigh Hunt biography

"A Night Rain in Summer" read by Richard Mitchley. Courtesy Richard Mitchley - Topic.