Do not suddenly break the branch, or The white hart behind the white well. Glance aside, not for lance, do not spell Old enchantments. Let them sleep.
‘Gently dip, but not too deep’, Lift your eyes Where the roads dip and where the roads rise Seek only there Where the grey light meets the green air The hermit’s chapel, the pilgrim’s prayer.
[5]
[10]
[Title] Usk: name of a town and river in Monmouthshire, Wales. Its full name is Caerleon-Upon-Usk, and the town is associated with the legend of King Arthur
GLOSSARY GLOSSARY
[3] hart: adult male deer
[4] lance: long weapon used for thrusting in jousting competitions
[5] enchantments: spells; the state of being under a spell, or a feeling of great pleasure
[6] ‘Gently dip, but not too deep’: line from ‘A Voice from the Well’, by the sixteenth-century poet and dramatist George Peele
[11] hermit: person living in solitude
[11] pilgrim: person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons