"Awake! I'm off to cities far away,"
I said; and rose, on peradventures bent.
The chimes played "Life's a Bumper!" on that day
To the measure of my walking as I went:
Their sweetness frisked and floated on the lea,
As they played out "Life's a Bumper!" there to me.
"Awake!" I said. "I go to take a bride!"
The sun arose behind me ruby-red
As I journeyed townwards from the countryside,
The chiming bells saluting near ahead.
Their sweetness swelled in tripping tings of glee
As they played out "Life's a Bumper!" there to me.
"Again arise." I seek a turfy slope,
And go forth slowly on an autumn noon,
And there I lay her who has been my hope,
And think, "O may I follow hither soon!"
While on the wind the chimes come cheerily,
Playing out "Life's a Bumper!" there to me.
The Chimes Play "life's A Bumper!"
Thomas Hardy
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Poem topics: autumn, away, hope, red, rose, sun, wind, bride, walking, follow, measure, Valentine's Day, life, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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DJH '37: I imagine ' Life's a Bumper' to have been a ditty sung and played in the early 19-teens when Hardy wrote this poem. Can anyone confirm? Indicate what the slang or feel or associations were to 'bumper'? Dodgems? Bumper cars?
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