Quote#Nature
Failing yet gracious
Quote byWilliam Ernest Henley · 1849–1903
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Poems (1898), "Rhymes and Rhythms", VIII. "To A. J. H.".
English (original)
Failing yet gracious, Slow pacing, soon homing, A patriarch that strolls Through the tents of his children, The sun as he journeys His round on the lower Ascents of the blue, Washes the roofs And the hillsides with clarity.
— William Ernest Henley
More from William Ernest Henley
Life is (I think) a blunder and a shame.
From the winter's gray despair, From the summer’s golden languor, Death, the lover of Life, Frees us for ever.
Ho! then, the splendour And sheen of my ministry, Clothing the earth With a livery of lightnings! Ho! then, the music Of battles in onset
Hark how the Trumpet, The mistress of mistresses, Calls, silver-throated And stern, where the tables Are spread, and the work Of the Lord is in hand!
Far in the stillness a cat Languishes loudly. A cinder Falls, and the shadows Lurch to the leap of the flame.
Bland as a Jesuit, sober as a hymn.