 | Collected poems of Thomas Hardy |  |
THE THIRD KISSING-GATE
She foots it forward down the town,
Then leaves the lamps behind,
And trots along the eastern road
Where elms stand double-lined.
Then leaves the lamps behind,
And trots along the eastern road
Where elms stand double-lined.
She clacks the first dim kissing-gate
Beneath the storm-strained trees,
And passes to the second mead
That fringes Mellstock Leaze.
Beneath the storm-strained trees,
And passes to the second mead
That fringes Mellstock Leaze.
864
She swings the second kissing-gate
Next the gray garden-wall,
And sees the third mead stretching down
Towards the waterfall.
Next the gray garden-wall,
And sees the third mead stretching down
Towards the waterfall.
And now the third-placed kissing-gate
Her silent shadow nears,
And touches with; when suddenly
Her person disappears.
Her silent shadow nears,
And touches with; when suddenly
Her person disappears.
What chanced by that third kissing-gate
When the hushed mead grew dun?
Lo—two dark figures clasped and closed
As if they were but one.
When the hushed mead grew dun?
Lo—two dark figures clasped and closed
As if they were but one.
| Collected poems of Thomas Hardy | |