In July 1906, L.M. Montgomery published the poem "Down in the Pastures" in The Farm Journal, a journal devoted to the farm, orchard, garden, poultry and household economy. The journal's motto was "Practical not Fancy Farming."
Here is a digitized image of the poem scanned from microfilm available at Archive.org:
Here is the full text of the poem:
DOWN IN THE PASTURES
BY L. M. MONTGOMERY
Down in the pastures, remote and cool,
In the glow of a golden afternoon,
Where the calm-eyed cows by the birchen pool
Browse, and meandering breezes croon
Among the clover and daisies there, In the wine-like sweetness of summer air,
I rambled to-day—no companionships
Of human creatures, no voice save the low Leaf murmurs that wandered to and fro,
And the brook’s mysterious sibylline lips.
A bluebird, perched on a picket gray,
Sang a song that was blithe and free;
It looked askance as I passed that way,
Yet the shy thing seemed not afraid of me.
And each wild rose that opened there Its virgin lips to the calm blue air
Among the bracken a welcome gave,
And I felt that everything, flower and bird, By some subtle instinct of joy was stirred,
Such as mortals know not and vainly crave.
O, it was sweet on this summer day
To learn my kinship to those wild things,
To feel as unfettered and glad as they
And as if my spirit at least had wings,
To lay my heart against Nature’s own Till the haunting music of each deep tone
Passed into my soul with a rapt release
From the pain and turmoil of outer life, To forget the meaning of selfish strife
And learn the depth of primeval peace.
Reference:
Montgomery, L.M. (1906, July). Down in the Pastures. The Farm Journal. 30(7): 234. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/sim_farm-journal_1906-07_30_7/page/234/mode/2up
Created October 30, 2022.
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