The White Bees E-Book

Henry van Dyke

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

In "The White Bees," Henry Van Dyke offers readers a luminous journey through nature and spirituality, weaving vivid imagery with introspective prose. Set against the backdrop of serene landscapes, the narrative explores themes of innocence, beauty, and the profound connections between human beings and the natural world. Van Dyke'Äôs lyrical style is infused with a sense of wonder, reflecting the ideals of American transcendentalism, and echoes the influences of his contemporaries such as Emerson and Thoreau. The book invites readers into a contemplative state, urging them to appreciate the subtle wonders of life and the fragile ecosystem surrounding them. Henry Van Dyke, a prominent American writer and clergyman, was known for his deep appreciation of literature and the splendor of the natural world. His diverse background as a pastor, educator, and poet enriched his worldview, compelling him to explore the intersections of faith and nature in his writing. "The White Bees" serves as a testament to his belief in the transformative power of beauty and simplicity, shaped by his own idyllic experiences in nature. This book is highly recommended for those seeking a reflective escape into a world where nature and spirituality intertwine. Readers who appreciate poetic language and philosophical inquiry will find themselves captivated by Van Dyke's enchanting prose, making "The White Bees" a timeless classic for lovers of literature and nature alike.

Leseprobe

Henry Van Dyke

The White Bees

Published by Good Press, 2022

[email protected]

EAN 4064066158422

Table of Contents

THE WHITE BEES AND OTHER POEMS

NEW YEAR'S EVE

SONGS FOR AMERICA

IN PRAISE OF POETS

LYRICS

THE END

NEW YEAR'S EVE

SONGS FOR AMERICA Sea-Gulls of Manhattan Urbs Coronata America Doors of Daring A Home Song A Noon Song An American in Europe The Ancestral Dwellings Francis Makemie National Monuments

IN PRAISE OF POETS Mother Earth Milton: Three Sonnets Wordsworth Keats Shelley Robert Browning Longfellow Thomas Bailey Aldrich Edmund Clarence Stedman

LYRICS, DRAMATIC AND PERSONAL Late Spring Nepenthe Hesper Arrival Departure The Black Birds Without Disguise Gratitude Master of Music Stars and the Soul To Julia Marlowe Pan Learns Music "Undine" Love in a Look My April Lady A Lover's Envy The Hermit Thrush Fire-Fly City The Gentle Traveller Sicily, December, 1908 The Window Twilight in the Alps Jeanne D'Arc Hudson's Last Voyage

THE WHITE BEES AND OTHER POEMS

Table of Contents

THE WHITE BEES

I

LEGEND

Long ago Apollo called to Aristaeus, youngest of the shepherds, Saying, "I will make you keeper of my bees." Golden were the hives, and golden was the honey; golden, too, the music, Where the honey-makers hummed among the trees.

Happy Aristaeus loitered in the garden, wandered in the orchard, Careless and contented, indolent and free; Lightly took his labour, lightly took his pleasure, till the fated moment When across his pathway came Eurydice.

Then her eyes enkindled burning love within him; drove him wild with longing, For the perfect sweetness of her flower-like face; Eagerly he followed, while she fled before him, over mead and mountain, On through field and forest, in a breathless race.

But the nymph, in flying, trod upon a serpent; like a dream she vanished; Pluto's chariot bore her down among the dead; Lonely Aristaeus, sadly home returning, found his garden empty, All the hives deserted, all the music fled.

Mournfully bewailing,—"ah, my honey-makers, where have you departed?"— Far and wide he sought them, over sea and shore; Foolish is the tale that says he ever found them, brought them home in triumph,— Joys that once escape us fly for evermore.

Yet I dream that somewhere, clad in downy whiteness, dwell the honey-makers, In aerial gardens that no mortal sees: And at times returning, lo, they flutter round us, gathering mystic harvest,— So I weave the legend of the long-lost bees.

II

THE SWARMING OF THE BEES

I

Who can tell the hiding of the white bees' nest? Who can trace the guiding of their swift home flight? Far would be his riding on a life-long quest: Surely ere it ended would his beard grow white.

Never in the coming of the rose-red Spring, Never in the passing of the wine-red Fall, May you hear the humming of the white bee's wing Murmur o'er the meadow, ere the night bells call.

Wait till winter hardens in the cold grey sky, Wait till leaves are fallen and the brooks all freeze, Then above the gardens where the dead flowers lie, Swarm the merry millions of the wild white bees.