The House That Was
Laurence Binyon
1869 to 1943
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
Easy Mode - Auto check enabled
Or a squared stone, lying mossy where it tumbled!
Or sun scorches, he holds the downs in ken,
Of daffodil flames amid April's cuckoo-flowers,
But, dark and lofty, a royal cedar towers
Of the old garden, only a stray shining
By homely thorns: whether the white rain drifts
Or a cluster of aconite mixt with weeds entwining!
Courses of brick, smothered in nettle and dock,
Where, seen in a windowed picture, hills were fading
What once was firelit floor and private charm
Sprawling bramble and saucy thistle mock
Of the old house, only a few crumbled
The western vale; his branchy tiers he lifts,
At dusk, and all was memory-coloured and warm,
And voices talked, secure from the wind's invading.
Older than many a generation of men.