Fragrant evening whispers from the south Herald the Mating Moon. With every instinct attuned I clamber over the rough brick wall And drop into your enchanted garden. I creep over the marble bridge Across your tiny lake, In whose clear depths is mirrored The dark vault of space With its setting of living yellow sapphires. Flaming lilies wantonly spray their golden pollen Upon the tranquil bosom of the pool. The purple wistaria bends down To kiss the bashful blushing lotus buds. Tuberoses and hyacinths pour forth on the twilight air Their heavy seductive perfumes. And there you lie in all your loveliness Like a carved-ivory moonflower set in turquoise jade, Asleep on the mossy bank Beneath the red-lacquered sundial. The frosty moonbeams on the shimmering water Are not purer than is your half-revealed breast; Nor is the cherry's sheen more tempting than your warm lips -- In you are all of Spring's lures Perfectly personified! But with anguished soul I turn away And rush through a gap In the thorny hedge -- Out into the deep yellow dust of the rutted road beyond. Alas! ... it is no bleaker, no more sterile, Than are the dead ashes of my heart! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DEAD PAN by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE BIRD OF PARADISE by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES THE BALLAD OF PROSE AND RHYME by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON THE SHADOW ON THE STONE by THOMAS HARDY FALSE POETS AND TRUE; TO WORDSWORTH by THOMAS HOOD |