 | The violet crown by Sir Rennell Rodd |  |
68
CALLISTE
In May, when oleanders bloom,
What time the gold was on the broom,
Before the moon was full above
A world that seemed but made for love,
When glow-worms lit the way we went
To bruise the hill thyme into scent,
The shadows of your raven hair,
The charm of movements free as air,
Your wild bird grace of shy replies,
The mischief in your sea-deep eyes,
Had tempted me to whisper you
The word world-old, but ever new,
The word that seemed so light to say
When oleanders bloomed in May.
What time the gold was on the broom,
Before the moon was full above
A world that seemed but made for love,
When glow-worms lit the way we went
To bruise the hill thyme into scent,
The shadows of your raven hair,
The charm of movements free as air,
Your wild bird grace of shy replies,
The mischief in your sea-deep eyes,
Had tempted me to whisper you
The word world-old, but ever new,
The word that seemed so light to say
When oleanders bloomed in May.
But, ah, Calliste, over sea
The fickle wind sets where for me
Lie other ways and other cares;—
For you the soft Ægean airs,
The sails in yonder haven furled
To tell you of the outside world,
The starry nights, the spring's perfume
Returning with the orange bloom,
The simple prayer you know to pray,
The ready mirth, and then some day
Some sailor with the broad brown chest
To snatch the flower from your breast,
To knot his fingers in your hair,
Draw up your face and call it fair,
And say the word I dared not say
When oleanders bloomed in May.
The fickle wind sets where for me
Lie other ways and other cares;—
For you the soft Ægean airs,
69
To tell you of the outside world,
The starry nights, the spring's perfume
Returning with the orange bloom,
The simple prayer you know to pray,
The ready mirth, and then some day
Some sailor with the broad brown chest
To snatch the flower from your breast,
To knot his fingers in your hair,
Draw up your face and call it fair,
And say the word I dared not say
When oleanders bloomed in May.
| The violet crown by Sir Rennell Rodd | |