There Was a Boy + 

There was a Boy, ye knew him well, ye Cliffs + 

And Islands of Winander! many a time, + 

At evening, when the stars had just begun + 

To move along the edges of the hills, + 

Rising or setting, would he stand alone, + 

Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering lake; + 

And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands + 

Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth + 

Uplifted, he, as through an instrument, + 

Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls + 

That they might answer him. And they would shout + 

Across the watery vale, and shout again + 

Responsive to his call, with quivering peals, + 

And long halloos, and screams, and echoes loud + 

Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild + 

Of mirth and jocund din! And, when it chanced + 

That pauses of deep silence mocked his skill, + 

Then, sometimes, in that silence, while he hung + 

Listening, a gentle shock of mild surprise + 

Has carried far into his heart the voice + 

Of mountain-torrents; or the visible scene + 

Would enter unawares into his mind + 

With all its solemn imagery, its rocks, + 

Its woods, and that uncertain heaven, received + 

Into the bosom of the steady lake. + 

This Boy was taken from his Mates, and died + 

In childhood, ere he was ten years old. + 

Fair are the woods, and beauteous is the spot, + 

The Vale where he was born: the Church-yard hangs + 

Upon a slope above the Village School, + 

And there, along that bank, when I have passed + 

At evening, I believe, that oftentimes + 

A full half-hour together I have stood + 

Mute⁠—looking at the grave in which he lies. + 