The Coolin

Come with me, under my coat,
And we will drink our fill
Of the milk of the white goat,
Or wine if it be thy will

And we will talk, until
Talk is a trouble, too,
Out on the side of the hill;
And nothing is left to do,

But an eye to look into an eye;
And a hand in a hand to slip;
And a sigh to answer a sigh;
And a lip to find out a lip!

What if the night be black!
Or the air on the mountain chill!
Where the goat lies down in her track,
And all but the fern is still!

Stay with me, under my coat!
And we will drink our fill
Of the milk of the white goat,
Out on the side of the hill!


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2 responses to “The Coolin”

  1. Pat S Avatar
    Pat S

    That was grateful.

    Raftery to Stephens to Barber. Flowing, inheriting, advantaging, adapting — hearing, seeing, touching — deriving.

    I have two books by James Stephens — one read a long time ago (The Crock of Gold), one unread (Irish Fairy Tales).

    Whenever books simply have to go, and I’m culling, The Crock of Gold survives. I remember how much it delighted me (though I can’t remember the story or its telling).

    It was a rare delight.

    I remember that sensation — utter, sustained, amazed delight — very clearly.

    Homer to Chapman to Keats. Goat’s milk to cocktail. To wander freely (vagabond), to divagate.

    To Flatiron on a New York odyssey.

  2. Pat S Avatar
    Pat S

    One meander I should not overlook (among many). Stephens and Raftery had a Chapman — “delightful little branch” Douglas Hyde.

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