by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
The West
Language: English
Beyond the moor and mountain crest -- Comrade, look not on the west -- The sun is down and drinks away From air and land the lees of day. The long cloud and the single pine Sentinel the ending line, And out beyond it, clear and wan Reach the gulfs of evening on. The son of woman turns his brow West from forty counties now, And, as the edge of heaven he eyes, Thinks eternal thoughts, and sighs. Oh wide's the world, to rest or roam, With change abroad and cheer at home, Fights and furloughs, talk and tale, Company and beef and ale. But if I front the evening sky Silent on the west look I, And my comrade, stride for stride, Paces silent at my side. Comrade, look not on the west: 'Twill have the heart out of your breast; 'Twill take your thoughts and sink them far, Leagues beyond the [western]1 bar. Oh lad, I fear that yon's the sea Where they fished for you and me, And there, from whence we both were ta'en, You and I shall drown again. Send not on your soul before To dive from that beguiling shore, And let not yet the swimmer leave His clothes upon the sands of eve. Too fast to yonder strand forlorn We journey, to the sunken bourn, To flush the fading tinges eyed By other lads at eventide. Wide is the world, to rest or roam, And early 'tis for turning home: Plant your heel on earth and stand, And let's forget our native land. When you and I are spilt on air Long we shall be strangers there; Friends of flesh and bone are best: Comrade, look not on the west.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Some editions of Housman have "sunset"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Mike Pearson
1 Some editions of Housman have "sunset"
Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), "The West", appears in Last Poems, no. 1, first published 1922 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Mike Pearson
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-13
Line count: 44
Word count: 285