Classic Poem

(A Fragment)

'Twixt Bedford Park and Westminster
Oft would a lady hurry,
Inside she was divine and deep
And outside green and furry.

The golden armoury of God
In truth was round her buckled.
— The son of man that is a worm
He blew his nose and chuckled.

For weary weeks and maddening months
In sunny days and shady
That amateurish Satan bored
That green and brown young lady.

And he would slay the cynic thought
That whispered " Ver non semper
Viret " — The spring will lose its crown
And she will lose her temper.
...

Over a thousand labours, low and high
He saw her face, lovely and grave and good,
Sleeping and waking, all her womanhood
Gilded the unsleeping watch of deity.