 | Forest Songs and Other Poems |  |
76
AN AUTUMN LOVE SONG.
1
The frail flowers are dying,The thistledown flying,
Summer is past!
The first leaves that wither
Roam hither and thither
With the treacherous blast;
And away to dark ruin he will ravish at last
Their green mates from the bough,
Where they sigh and tremble now.
2
The surges are shattered,The tough ragweed tattered
By the gusts of the gale;
77
And round the green island,
A wanderer pale,
Strays the sunshine; the moor seethes with whispers of wail,
As its reed-grasses shake,
And serely shudders the brake.
3
The leaves and the surgesMay chaunt their wild dirges,
The pale flowers pine;
My heart at their voices
More hugely rejoices;
One draught of Love's wine
Unwinters the earth—thou art mine, thou art mine!
Let the wind have its will,
And rave: I glow in its chill!
4
Thy kisses, warm-clinging,My heart have set singing;
Autumn's at bay!
78
My yew-cloistered garden—
I'll pluck it to-day,
And bid it go die in thy bosom, and say
With its passionate breath:
“Love greets thee—victor o'er death!”
| Forest Songs and Other Poems | |