Amongst the Roses

I WALKED through a Forest, beneath the hot noon,
On Etheline calling and calling!
One said: “She will hear you and come to you soon,
When the coolness, my brother, is falling.”
But I whispered: “O Darling, I falter with pain!”
And the thirsty leaves rustled, and hissed for the rain,
Where a wayfarer halted and slept on the plain;
        And dreamt of a garden of Roses!
                Of a cool sweet place,
                And a nestling face
        In a dance and a dazzle of Roses.

In the drouth of a Desert, outwearied, I wept,
O Etheline, darkened with dolours!
But, folded in sunset, how long have you slept
By the Roses all reeling with colours?
A tree from its tresses a blossom did shake,
It fell on her face, and I feared she would wake,
So I brushed it away for her sweet sake;
        In that garden of beautiful Roses!
                In the dreamy perfumes
                From ripe-red blooms
        In a dance and a dazzle of Roses.

Back | Words Home | Kendall Home | Site Info. | Feedback