Classic Poem

" Thou standest in the greenwood now
The place, the hour the same —
And here the fresh leaves gleam and glow
And there, down in the lake below,
The tiny ripples flame.

" The breeze sings like a summer breeze
Should sing in summer skies
And tower-like rocks and tent-like trees
In mingled glory rise.

" But where is he to-day, to-day? "
" O question not with me. "
" I will not, Lady; only say
Where may thy lover be?

" Is he upon some distant shore
Or is he on the sea
Or is the heart thou dost adore
A faithless heart to thee?

" The heart I love, whate'er betide,
Is faithful as the grave
And neither foreign lands divide
Nor yet the rolling wave. "

" Then why should sorrow cloud that brow
And tears those eyes bedim?
Reply this once — is it that thou
Hast faithless been to him? "

" I gazed upon the cloudless moon
And loved her all the night
Till morning came and ardent noon,
Then I forgot her light —

No — not forgot — eternally
Remains its memory dear;
But could the day seem dark to me
Because the night was fair?

" I well may mourn that only one
Can light my future sky
Even though by such a radiant sun
My moon of life must die.
Now printed for the first time in an edition of the poems; but see note on p. 35.
This poem appears to be partly a transcript of Manuscripts D3 and D8: