Once of a Northern midnight, By dike and mountainside, With fleeces for her habit, The moon went forth to ride Up from the ocean caverns, Where ancient memories bide, Returning with his secret We heard the muttering tide. But fear was not upon you; Your woman's arms were wide; The world's poor shreds and tatters Of mumming laid aside. The sea-rote for our rubic, Our ritual and guide, There was a virgin wedding Whose vows no priest supplied. And there until the dawn-wind Up from the marshes sighed, Whispered among the aspens, Shivered and passed and died, Our scene-shifter the moonlight, Our orchestra the tide, I was a prince of fairy, You were a prince's bride. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SCHOLAR GIPSY by MATTHEW ARNOLD TO HIS MISTRESS by ABRAHAM COWLEY BATUSCHKA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH MINDEN HOUSE by WILLIAM BARNES VERSES: IN PRAISE OF SACRED POESY by JOHN BYROM ON THE BEACH; LINES BY A PRIVATE TUTOR by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY MASQUE AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE LORD HAYES: SONG. NIGHT by THOMAS CAMPION TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 2. ETERNAL HUNGER by EDWARD CARPENTER |