Wednesday with Words: Tennyson Take 2

Last week I shared some of Tennyson's Idylls of the King.  I have finished the epic poem, just as we began reading Tennyson as our poet for term one of AO year 4.  I had read very little of him before, but after reading the Idylls and the first few of the AO chosen poems, I can say that I do like his style.  So without further ado, here are a couple of my favorites so far, in honor of April being National Poetry Month.  (Its also autism awareness month, occupational therapy appreciation month, and more, but I'll save that focus for another day!)

The Oak by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Live thy life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;
Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed,
Soberer hued
Gold again.
All his leaves
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough,
Naked strength.

I think I'm in the mid-to-late-summer of my life ;)  but maybe he is really just talking about the tree...

I also liked this one, possibly because we have been watching a live web cam of eaglets hatching lately. (See the nest here.)

The Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
   Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his m mountain walls,
   And like a thunderbolt he falls.