Dylan Thomas — Fern Hill

Dylan Thomas — Fern Hill

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light.

And as I was green and carefree, famous among the barns
About the happy yard and singing as the farm was home,
In the sun that is young once only,
Time let me play and be
Golden in the mercy of his means,
And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman, the calves
Sang to my horn, the foxes on the hills barked clear and cold,
And the sabbath rang slowly
In the pebbles of the holy streams.

All the sun long it was running, it was lovely, the hay
Fields high as the house, the tunes from the chimneys, it was air
And playing, lovely and watery
And fire green as grass.
And nightly under the simple stars
As I rode to sleep the owls were bearing the farm away,
All the moon long I heard, blessed among stables, the nightjars
Flying with the ricks, and the horses
Flashing into the dark.

And then to awake, and the farm, like a wanderer white
With the dew, come back, the cock on his shoulder: it was all
Shining, it was Adam and maiden,
The sky gathered again
And the sun grew round that very day.
So it must have been after the birth of the simple light
In the first, spinning place, the spellbound horses walking warm
Out of the whinnying green stable
On to the fields of praise.

And honoured among foxes and pheasants by the gay house
Under the new made clouds and happy as the heart was long,
In the sun born over and over,
I ran my heedless ways,
My wishes raced through the house high hay
And nothing I cared, at my sky blue trades, that time allows
In all his tuneful turning so few and such morning songs
Before the children green and golden
Follow him out of grace.

Nothing I cared, in the lamb white days, that time would take me
Up to the swallow thronged loft by the shadow of my hand,
In the moon that is always rising,
Nor that riding to sleep
I should hear him fly with the high fields
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Dylan
• Thomas
• Wales
• Welsh
• Poet
• Poetry
• Reading
• Fern
• Hill

[RimbaudsRebirth]

Is thls read by Dylan Thomas?

[gymnopedija]

It is indeed the man himself reading the poem.

[platycodyn]

Brings tears to my eyes, makes me want to stop my day and write

[iMaajid]

"In all his tuneful turning so few and such morning songs

Before the children green and golden

Follow him out of grace."

Goosebumps.

[ta724price1]

I sang in my chains like the sea.

[yippitydodah]

Nectar, still, nectar, nectar of long lost childhood long lost, never to be recovered, but to be passed along gladly to other new ones, with our gracious very good wishes.

[yippitydodah]

@mimosadawn

But we were all as happy as the grass was green, once.

[mimosadawn]

"And the Sabbath rang slowly in the pebbles of the holy streams." That is incredibly beautiful.

[yippitydodah]

@Countrychiddler

By the way Countrychiddler, have you seen this excellent short film of Caitlin and Dylan on here, posted by the director. The director also plays the doctor in it, in NYC, Dylan's deathbed. Cracking small film, enjoy,

watch?v=F1RjCp0LLaE

copy paste and youtube search

Sums up the frustration of life plus total love.

[yippitydodah]

@Countrychiddler

or "as I sang in my chains in front of my PC", you could also say, for these days modern, well after Dylan left us.

Great post my friend.

[Countrychiddler]

@yippitydodah You are right! Ending a poem with the word sea is liberating. It could have been "sang in my chains like the furniture!

[wednesdayste]

Listen just to 'Now as I was young and...', the first six words of the poem - it sounds like he is beginning a song!