Šrift:Väiksem АаSuurem Aa
Winter Song
Wintry winds are calling,
Whereso'er I go;
Dismally is falling,
The melancholy snow!
Birds from off the bough,
Long have taken flight;
There is no singing now,
And scant sunlight.
I weary for the old days,
When all the world looked gay;
These are the cold days, —
Summer hath fled away!
Love and peace and gladness,
Stayed a little space;
Solitude and sadness
Meet me in their place.
Love passed idly by,
Soon was gladness flown;
Peace was last to fly, —
I am alone!
And I weary for the old days,
And those who would not stay;
These are the cold days, —
Summer hath fled away!
Heart! hast thou a reason
Thus to throb and yearn
In the wintry season?
Why should he return
In the wintry hours?
'Tis too late to gain
One who mid the flowers
Would not remain.
And I weary for the old days,
And one who would not stay;
These are the cold days, —
Summer hath fled away!
The Miller's Daughter
It is the miller's daughter,
And she is grown so dear, so dear,
That I would be the jewel
That trembles at her ear;
For, hid in ringlets day and night,
I'd touch her neck so warm and white.
And I would be the girdle
About her dainty, dainty waist,
And her heart would beat against me
In sorrow and in rest;
And I should know if it beat right,
I'd clasp it round so close and tight.
And I would be the necklace,
And all day long to fall and rise
Upon her balmy bosom
With her laughter or her sighs;
And I would lie so light, so light,
I scarce should be unclasped at night.
Oh, were my Love a Country Lass
Oh, were my love a country lass,
That I might see her every day;
And sit with her on hedge-row grass
Beneath a bough of May;
And find her cattle when astray,
Or help to drive them to the field,
And linger on our homeward way,
And woo her lips to yield
A twilight kiss before we parted,
Full of love, yet easy-hearted!
Oh, were my love a cottage maid,
To spin through many a winter night,
Where ingle-corner lends its shade
From fir-wood blazing bright.
Beside her wheel what dear delight
To watch the blushes go and come,
With tender words that took no fright
Beneath the friendly hum;
Or rising smile, or tear-drop swelling,
At a fireside legend's telling!
Oh, were my love a peasant girl,
That never saw the wicked town;
Was never dight with silk or pearl,
But graced a homely gown.
How less than weak were fashion's frown
To vex our unambitious lot!
How rich were love and peace to crown
Our green secluded cot,
Where age would come serene and shining,
Like an autumn day's declining!
The Siesta
(FROM THE SPANISH.)
Airs! that wander and murmur round,
Bearing delight where'er ye blow,
Make in the elms a lulling sound,
While my lady sleeps in the shade below.
Lighten and lengthen her noonday rest,
Till the heat of the noonday sun is o'er;
Sweet be her slumbers, – though in my breast
The pain she has waked may slumber no more.
Breathing soft from the blue profound,
Bearing delight where'er ye blow,
Make in the elms a lulling sound,
While my lady sleeps in the shade below.
Airs! that over the bending boughs,
And under the shade of pendent leaves,
Murmur soft, like my timid vows,
Or the secret sighs my bosom heaves, —
Gently sweeping the grassy ground,
Bearing delight where'er ye blow,
Make in the elms a lulling sound,
While my lady sleeps in the shade below.
The Queen's Ride
'Tis that fair time of year,
Lady mine!
When stately Guinevere
In her sea-green robe and hood,
Went a-riding through the wood,
Lady mine!
And as the Queen did ride,
Lady mine!
Sir Launcelot at her side
Laughed and chatted, bending over,
Half her friend and all her lover,
Lady mine!
And as they rode along,
Lady mine!
The throstle gave them song,
And the buds peeped through the grass
To see youth and beauty pass,
Lady mine!
And on, through deathless time,
Lady mine!
These lovers in their prime
(Two fairy ghosts together!)
Ride, with sea-green robe and feather,
Lady mine!
And so we two will ride,
Lady mine!
At your pleasure, side by side,
Laugh and chat, – I bending over,
Half your friend and all your lover,
Lady mine!
But if you like not this,
Lady mine!
And take my love amiss,
Then I'll ride unto the end,
Half your lover, all your friend,
Lady mine!
So come which way you will,
Lady mine!
Vale, upland, plain, and hill
Wait your coming. For one day
Loose the bridle, and away!
Lady mine!
Mary Morison
O Mary, at thy window be —
It is the wished, the trysted hour!
Those smiles and glances let me see
That make the miser's treasure poor.
How blithely wad I bide the stoure,
A weary slave frae sun to sun,
Could I the rich reward secure,
Of lovely Mary Morison!
Yestreen, when to the trembling string
The dance gaed through the lighted ha',
To thee my fancy took its wing, —
I sat, but neither heard nor saw,
Though this was fair, and that was braw,
And you the toast of a' the town,
I sighed, and said, amang them a',
Ye are na Mary Morison!
O Mary, canst thou wreck his peace
Wha for thy sake wad gladly die?
Or canst thou break that heart of his,
Whase only faut is loving thee?
If love for love thou wilt na gie,
At least be pity to me shown:
A thought ungentle canna be
The thought of Mary Morison.