Robert Browning 1812 – 1889
O, TO be in England
Now that April ‘s there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!
He was visiting Italy, when poet, Robert Browning, missing the English springtime, penned the poem, Home thoughts from abroad.
Later, in response to this, Rupert Brooke wrote his version of this in 1912 – in the Cafe des Westerns.
The Old Vicarage, Grantchester
(Cafe des Westens, Berlin, May 1912)
Just now the lilac is in bloom,
All before my little room;
And in my flower-beds, I think,
Smile the carnation and the pink;
And down the borders, well I know,
The poppy and the pansy blow . . .
Oh! there the chestnuts, summer through,
Beside the river make for you
A tunnel of green gloom, and sleep
Deeply above; and green and deep
The stream mysterious glides beneath,
Green as a dream and deep as death.
— Oh, damn! I know it! and I know
How the May fields all golden show,
And when the day is young and sweet,
Gild gloriously the bare feet
That run to bathe . . .
‘Du lieber Gott!’
There’s more to it, but the opening lines sum up this time of year don’t they? Who would want to be anywhere else, but here, in England. I have my own springtime poem, but I’ll post that next time. Enjoy the sunshine, scents of the blossom and fresh cut grass, even if it makes your eyes water, like mine. Oh the joys of springtime, enjoy every day, and take time to smell the flowers, even if they make you cry!
Susan Jones - Writer 
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