 | Country muse |  |
31
IN THE GLADE
From bush to bush I followed her,
A bird that piped and flew beyond,
I saw the little branches stir,
I saw her shadow in the pond;
A bird that piped and flew beyond,
I saw the little branches stir,
I saw her shadow in the pond;
And still she lured me to the wood
With cunning notes so round and ripe;
I followed in a dreamy mood
This feathered Orpheus and her pipe.
With cunning notes so round and ripe;
I followed in a dreamy mood
This feathered Orpheus and her pipe.
We passed a slope where cowslips shook
Their yellow blossoms in the breeze;
We passed the shallows of the brook,
And reached the temple of the trees:
Their yellow blossoms in the breeze;
We passed the shallows of the brook,
And reached the temple of the trees:
34
And still her music onward went
Through hazel-alleys, beechen groves,
Where doves with lulling voices sent
Soft salutations to their loves.
Through hazel-alleys, beechen groves,
Where doves with lulling voices sent
Soft salutations to their loves.
So down these verdant colonnades
I still pursued the woodland note,
O'er lawny islands of the glades
That echoed to the blackbird's throat.
I still pursued the woodland note,
O'er lawny islands of the glades
That echoed to the blackbird's throat.
And as I neared one bright expanse
A cool oasis clothed with green,
A perfume, sweeter than romance—
Than love that only might have been
A cool oasis clothed with green,
A perfume, sweeter than romance—
Than love that only might have been
Came, with a stripling breeze for aid,
To stay a moment, stay and pass;
Another step. I spied a maid,
Or goddess, sleeping in the grass.
To stay a moment, stay and pass;
Another step. I spied a maid,
Or goddess, sleeping in the grass.
35
Around her in an amber stream
There flowed the marvel of her hair,
The ransom for a world, the dream
To fill the morning with despair:
There flowed the marvel of her hair,
The ransom for a world, the dream
To fill the morning with despair:
The pink of apple-bloom possessed
The virgin cheeks unkissed by man;
And round her throat the sun had pressed
To clasp it with his ring of tan:
The virgin cheeks unkissed by man;
And round her throat the sun had pressed
To clasp it with his ring of tan:
Her lips, half-opened, had the light
Of cherries bathed by drops of rain;
Reproachless was the dome of white
Unblemished brow without a stain.
Of cherries bathed by drops of rain;
Reproachless was the dome of white
Unblemished brow without a stain.
Then in my heart that love did cry
Which from my life shall never pass;
And bitterly I longed to lie
Beside her beauty in the grass.
Which from my life shall never pass;
And bitterly I longed to lie
Beside her beauty in the grass.
36
The doves in spires of elm and oak
Cooed softly in the afternoon,
And sometimes from a bush there broke
A whitethroat's tenderness of tune.
Cooed softly in the afternoon,
And sometimes from a bush there broke
A whitethroat's tenderness of tune.
The air was full of nameless joy!
And, daring all, I threw me down
As innocently as a boy
Beside her scented film of gown.
And, daring all, I threw me down
As innocently as a boy
Beside her scented film of gown.
Now if some secret charm in her
Across my aching heart did sweep,
Some magic in her bosom's stir,
I know not—but I fell asleep,
Across my aching heart did sweep,
Some magic in her bosom's stir,
I know not—but I fell asleep,
And when the day, a patient bride,
Was parting from her love, the sun,
The girl, or goddess, from my side
Had gently risen, and was gone!
Was parting from her love, the sun,
The girl, or goddess, from my side
Had gently risen, and was gone!
| Country muse | |