Greenfield Verses

by
C. F. Elias.

Privately published [1943]

[Dedication]
To Derwyn.

SONNET.

Trees Seen on a Winter's Night.

How beauteous is the work of Nature seen
Against the grey soft mist of winter's sky;
That sweetly balanced frame with branches high
Stands out as never did in Summer green
Tho' richer hue hath mantled many a Queen.
Beauty and strength more proudly sport their crest
When days are cold and stern, bearing the test
Of time and tide secure they stand serene.
So is it in the lengthening days of Man
That in the hour of hardship and of Stress
When Sun is darkened and the night is long
His strength and spirit stand to show the plan
That nature drew, the frame and pattern strong
Yet tempered truly by her firm caress.

SONNET.

Upland Plough.

Another field is taken for the plough
Another wide green carpet to be torn
Into long strips and turned this sunny morn.
The long sharp silver blade is cutting now
The rich grey furrows left and right. See how
The shaggy team breasting the waving slopes
Into their collars heave, pulling the ropes
That link them to the bars and not allow
Dobbin to pull ahead of Prince but level keep.
And in straight furrow turn the grassy screen
To stony grey brown soil in sinuous rows
That earth may live again. Let no man weep
To see the burial of the past; The snows
Of winter turn to Summer's verdant green.

SONNET.

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes.

Once more mine eyes are lifted to the hills
Green in their springtime garments smooth and fair,
High to the heavens, lifting to the air
Their lofty summits, while the Range fulfills
Its promise of devotion, as the Rills
Descending to the valley where they lay
Their tribute to the River day by day.
The Moon and Stars, the Rain and Wind that wills
The clouds to fondle them, blest by the sun,
Serene Eternal underneath the skies
There they have stood since time and space were born.
And Man's brief journey on the world begun
Keeping their silent vigil Night and Morn
Giving to Men the message -- Lift your Eyes!

SONNET.

In Silence.

Dark is the Silence, Silent as the deep.
The Earth is quiet and the sky is still,
The Trees are resting on the slumbering hill,
And birds are hidden in the boughs asleep,
Down in the meadows lie the drowsy sheep.
Across the Earth and Sky, above the Sea
The Velvet hand of darkness seems to be
Relenting not, his prisoner to keep.
Over the World the Sun may ride and set
In pity on the tragedies of War,
But here in solemn silence shall we stand
In awe and reverence, nor shall we forget
That through the darkness covering the land
The dawn of Victory rises from afar.

Wood, Wind and Strings.

Do the trees sleep to-night
The wind is rocking them
Lifting and stirring them
--Sighing contentedly
The leaves are fluttering
The branches are swaying
As they bow to the wind
As they welcome his coming
Stroking each other
And through the darkness
Seeing each other
Singing together
Yet with different voices;
The leaves will sing in chorus
And in part; the branches sing;
The bass -- the treble --
And the part song
Branch to branch
Leaf on leaf
Harmony -- Unison
The wood -- the wind
The strings -- in orchestra.

   

SCHOOL SONG

Calday Grange Grammar School
The Foundation Charter dated 26th October 1636 states that "William Glegg of Calday Grange in the County of Chester, Armiger, for the honour of Almighty God and in the name of Jesus Christ, and also for the good and Christian Institution of boys within the village of Calday Grange gave certain lands for the purposes of a Free Grammar School which shall be founded and erected within the township of Calday Grange within the Parish of West Kirby in the County Palatine of Chester."

Nisi Dominus Frustra

By Frankby's Green they ploughed the land,
   They won the sand stone from the hill.
The schooners lay in Dawpool Deep
   To bear the corn from Irby Mill.

And there an ancient school was set,
   That learning's lamp might light the range
In honour of Almighty God,
   By William Glegg of Calday Grange.

And there they taught the way of life,
   Of man's estate and nature's laws,
The grammar of the Latin race,
   Of chivalry, romance and wars.

As rivers from the hills derive
   Their tribute and their strength, to be
Merged in the ever-widening stream
   And carried to the timeless sea.

So has the school her tribute drawn
   From all the country-side that runs
And merges in the stream of life
   The strength and courage of her sons.

Her head is high, her heart is sound,
   Her soul has windows to the sea,
Across the oceans of the world
   Her spirit rides enduringly.

Every Second Tree.

Danger, the word is carried on the breeze
Running like fire through all the woodland green
Along the coverts and the grassland smooth
The fatal words pass to the trembling trees,

By fretted oak leaves to the needled pine
To Silvery Birch with shining spangled leaves
The Sycamore with smoothly drooping folds
The Avenue of Beech, dove grey, in line.

The law now runs that every second tree
Must fall -- too soon -- beneath the woodman's axe
The trees are whispering now, chanting the dirge
It must be one of us -- 'Tis you or me.

Here we as saplings grew when time was young
Parched by the Summer heat, refreshed by showers
Weathered the winter gales, sang to the wind
Slept in the darkness when our song was sung.

Haven for pheasant, sanctuary for fowl
Down in the brushwood, bramble and the fern
And in our branches where the leaves were green
Cradled the song bird and concealed the owl.

Soon will the parting come when some must die
In service for mankind so shall we go
Some to the darkened mine below the grass
And others bearing standards to the sky.

Some for the wheel -- for shaft and post and rail
For house and barn, shelter for men and store
Bark for the tanning and the charcoal fire
Some for the ships to proudly hold the sail.

When the time comes no-one must then complain
We live to die but shall not die in vain.

 

==O==

 

Permission has been given by
the Editor of "The Field" to
reprint some of the verses.

F. GOULD,
Printer,
West Kirby.

__________

   Editorial note: this text was transcribed 2002-10-24 by Richard M. Leveridge from "Greenfield Verses" by Charles Frederick Elias, [1943].

Version 2003-05-06.
Mail to: leveridge@zoom.co.uk
Home page: http://pages.zoom.co.uk/leveridge/