| |
| THROUGH laughing leaves the sunlight comes, | |
| Turning the green to gold; | |
| The bee about the heather hums, | |
| And the morning air is cold | |
| Here on the breezy woodland side, | 5 |
| Where we two ride. | |
| |
| Through laughing leaves on golden hair | |
| The sunlight glances down, | |
| And makes a halo round her there, | |
| And crowns her with a crown | 10 |
| Queen of the sunrise and the sun, | |
| As we ride on. | |
| |
| The wanton wind has kissed her face,— | |
| His lips have left a rose,— | |
| He found her cheek so sweet a place | 15 |
| For kisses, I suppose, | |
| He thought he ’d leave a sign, that so | |
| Others might know. | |
| |
| The path grows narrower as we ride, | |
| The green boughs close above, | 20 |
| And overhead, and either side, | |
| The wild birds sing of Love: | |
| But ah, she is not listening | |
| To what they sing! | |
| |
| Till I take up the wild-birds’ song, | 25 |
| And word by word unfold | |
| Its meaning as we ride along,— | |
| And when my tale is told, | |
| I turn my eyes to hers again,— | |
| And then,—and then,— | 30 |
| |
| (The bridle path more narrow grows, | |
| The leaves shut out the sun;) | |
| Where the wind’s lips left their one rose | |
| My own leave more than one: | |
| While the leaves murmur up above, | 35 |
| And laugh for love. | |
| |
| This was the place;—you see the sky | |
| Now ’twixt the branches bare; | |
| About the path the dead leaves lie, | |
| And songless is the air;— | 40 |
| All ’s changed since then, for that, you know, | |
| Was long ago. | |
| |
| Let us ride on! The wind is cold,— | |
| Let us ride on—ride fast!— | |
| ’T is winter, and we knew of old | 45 |
| That love could never last | |
| Without the summer and the sun!— | |
| Let us ride on! | |
| |
