Skip to content
1863–1894

MOONLIGHT NORTH AND SOUTH

Robert Fuller Murray

Love, we have heard together The North Sea sing his tune, And felt the wind's wild feather Brush past our cheeks at noon,

And seen the cloudy weather Made wondrous with the moon. Where loveliness is rarest, ‘ Tis also prized the most:

The moonlight shone her fairest Along that level coast Where sands and dunes the barest, Of beauty seldom boast,

Far from that bleak and rude land An exile I remain Fixed in a fair and good land, A valley and a plain

Rich in fat fields and woodland, And watered well with rain. Last night the full moon's splendour Shone down on Taunton Dene,

And pasture fresh and tender, And coppice dusky green, The heavenly light did render In one enchanted scene,

One fair unearthly vision. Yet soon mine eyes were cloyed, And found those fields Elysian Too rich to be enjoyed.

Or was it our division Made all my pleasure void? Across the window glasses The curtain then I drew,

And, as a sea-bird passes, In sleep my spirit flew To grey and windswept grasses And moonlit sands — and you.

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.
MOONLIGHT NORTH AND SOUTH · Robert Fuller Murray · Poetry Cove