White in the moon the long road lies

White in the moon the long road lies,
The moon stands blank above;
White in the moon the long road lies
That leads me from my love.

Still hangs the hedge without a gust,
Still, still the shadows stay:
My feet upon the moonlit dust
Pursue the ceaseless way.

The world is round, so travellers tell,
And straight though reach the track,
Trudge on, trudge on, ’twill all be well,
The way will guide one back.

But ere the circle homeward hies
Far, far must it remove:
White in the moon the long road lies
That leads me from my love.

by A.E. Housman (1859-1936)

 

One Response to “White in the moon the long road lies”

  1. Dr. Graham W. Parker's avatar
    Dr. Graham W. Parker Says:

    The title of my most recent book is ‘Pursues the Ceaseless Way’ taken from the Housman poem. By a strange coincidence the last Morse book by Colin Dexter is titled ‘The Remorseless Day’ also from Housman. Colin Dexter was one of my classics masters at school – perhaps there was something in the air!

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