Laurella and other poems by John Todhunter |
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SCHERZO. |
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 | Laurella and other poems |  |
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IV. SCHERZO.
Anon the freaksome wind hath gentler grown,And seeks the dale, his roughness all o'erblown:
Lithe stems of earing wheat he whispers through,
Or sports o'er moonlit meads begemmed with dew,
Kissing the wild-flower on her trembling stalk;
Then, stealing sly along a trellised walk,
With blowing roses arched, he fans the beds
Where summer lilies hang their dainty heads,
And many a blossomed vase the lawn bestuds,
There woos their odours from the chaliced buds,
Filling with dim perfumes the garden's bounds,
Perfumes that float like tender-breathéd sounds—
Sweet as the pleading tones of love-lorn lutes,
Soft as the mellow harmony of flutes:
Now through the woven clematis he climbs,
Or hides himself among the leafiest limes;
Now with a pink he pauses to coquette,
Or hovers o'er a plot of mignonette;
Now wantons with a fountain's dancing spray
Ere to fresh fields of joy he hastes away,
To chase the clouds with many an airy prank,
Or sigh himself to sleep upon a thymy bank.
| Laurella and other poems | |