| SAFE in the magic of my woods | |
| I lay, and watched the dying light. | |
| Faint in the pale high solitudes, | |
| And washed with rain and veiled by night, | |
| |
| Silver and blue and green were showing. | 5 |
| And the dark woods grew darker still; | |
| And birds were hushed; and peace was growing; | |
| And quietness crept up the hill; | |
| |
| And no wind was blowing | |
| |
| And I knew | 10 |
| That this was the hour of knowing, | |
| And the night and the woods and you | |
| Were one together, and I should find | |
| Soon in the silence the hidden key | |
| Of all that had hurt and puzzled me— | 15 |
| Why you were you, and the night was kind, | |
| And the woods were part of the heart of me. | |
| |
| And there I waited breathlessly, | |
| Alone; and slowly the holy three, | |
| The three that I loved, together grew | 20 |
| One, in the hour of knowing, | |
| Night, and the woods, and you— | |
| And suddenly | |
| There was an uproar in my woods, | |
| |
| The noise of a fool in mock distress, | 25 |
| Crashing and laughing and blindly going, | |
| Of ignorant feet and a swishing dress, | |
| And a Voice profaning the solitudes. | |
| |
| The spell was broken, the key denied me | |
| And at length your flat clear voice beside me | 30 |
| Mouthed cheerful clear flat platitudes. | |
| |
| You came and quacked beside me in the wood. | |
| You said, “The view from here is very good!” | |
| You said, “It’s nice to be alone a bit!” | |
| And, “How the days are drawing out!” you said. | 35 |
| You said, “The sunset’s pretty, isn’t it?” | |
| |
| By God! I wish—I wish that you were dead! | |
