free-verse24 lines
Many A Mickle
by Walter de la MareA little sound - -
Only a little, a little - -
The breath in a reed,
A trembling fiddle;
A trumpet's ring,
The shuddering drum;
So all the glory, bravery, hush
Of music come.
A little sound - -
Only a stir and a sigh
Of each green leaf
Its fluttering neighbor by;
Oak on to oak,
The wide dark forest through - -
So o'er the watery wheeling world
The night winds go.
A little sound,
Only a little, a little - -
The thin high drone
Of the simmering kettle,
The gathering frost,
The click of needle and thread;
Mother, the fading wall, the dream,
The drowsy bed.