Classic Poem

I

On such a day as this old Notting Wood
Made gentle answer from her secret glades
Unto the tumult of the lusty blades
That owned no liege save merry Robin Hood.
Deep in the haunts of velvet doe and buck
Lolled gallant Will and pursy Friar Tuck,
Quaffing brown ale but last October brewed.
Whilst of his flame the amorous Allen troll'd,
Upon the sward beyond, 'mid blithesome shouts
That mocked each broken pate, the yeoman bold
Plied their stout quarter-staffs in bloody bouts.
Apart from all the rest, good Robin lay,
And sorely grieved that, lo, for many a day
The varlet sheriff had not rode that way.

II

On such a day as this the Nazarene
Came from his lowly fisher home and stood
Upon the shore of restless Galilee;
And as he viewed the ever-changing scene,
He heard the breezes whisper to the sea
How they had come that morning from a wood,
Where, in the warmth of springtime, all was green;
How they had lingered there in furtive mood;
How they had kissed a crucifixion tree
That angels guarded; and the listening One
Bowed down His head in sweet humility.
" Father, Thy will, " He cried, " not mine, be done. "
Then sped the vernal breezes, fair and free,
To bear the tidings back to Calvary.