Hesperus
Hesperus the day is gone
Soft falls the silent dew
A tear is now on many a flower
And heaven lives in you
Hesperus the evening mild
Falls round us soft and sweet
'Tis like the breathings of a child
When day and evening meet
Hesperus the closing flower
Sleeps on the dewy ground
While dews fall in a silent shower
And heaven breathes around
Hesperus thy twinkling ray
Beams in the blue of heaven
And tells the traveller on his way
That earth shall be forgiven
Commentary
Guest poem submitted by Gavin Duley:
I would like to suggest John Clare’s poem “Hesperus”. Minstrels has already run his most famous poem “I Am”, but Clare wrote many other poems which are equally good.
I first heard about Clare on a radio program on BBC Radio 3 a few years back, and he is now one of my favourite poets. At his best his work has a simplicity and immediacy to it that makes them very effective and very moving.
Clare’s patrons tried to convince him to ‘raise his views’ and ‘prove himself capable of talking of higher subjects than Birds and Flowers’. Thankfully, Clare took little notice of this ‘helpful’ advice, and managed to find his own voice which was at once simple, lyrical, direct and extremely beautiful.
As a clarification, WordNet defines Hesperus thus: “S: (n) evening star, Hesperus, Vesper (a planet (usually Venus) seen at sunset in the western sky)”
I hope you enjoy this poem too, it’s one of my favourites.
Gavin.
[ Reference: ‘John Clare’ (1984).
eds. Eric Robinson & David Powell
The Oxford Authors, Oxford University Press, Oxford. ]