Hesperus -- John Clare

Guest poem submitted by Gavin Duley:

(Poem #1842) 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 -- John Clare

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. ]