DOWN-HILL ON A BICYCLE

The rolling earth stops

As I climb to the summit,

Then like a plummet

It suddenly drops...

Down, down I go —

Past rippling acres;

Hillsides like breakers

Over me flow.

Wildly alive

I hail the green shimmer,

Fresh as a swimmer

After the dive.

Like banners unfurled

The skies dip and flourish —

The keen breezes nourish,

While the bright world

Is a ribbon unrolled

With a border of grasses;

And tansies are masses

And splotches of gold.

Still I whirl on —

Startled, a sparrow

Darts from the yarrow,

Flash — and is gone...

Faster the gleams

Die as they dazzle —

And roadsides of basil

Turn to pink streams.

Sharp as a knife

Is each perfume and color.

To feel nothing duller —

God, that were Life!