Evening
The long, still night is coming,
But whilst I've been at play,
The soldier-men were fighting
Thro' all the live-long day.
Dear God! when my turn comes,
Please keep me brave as they.
ROBIN HOOD'S BAY.
STAR-SCANDAL
One summer eve, my own dear love and I
Sat arm-entwined beneath a rowan-tree.
A little wind flew past us with a sigh,
And all the velvet leaves waved merrily.
Then, as mine eyes escaped his ardent glance,
I saw a star peep o'er the purple hill
And climb up to the topmost branch and dance,
And wink at its reflection in the rill.
"Come, kiss me once, O timorous-hearted Love.
Full many thousand kisses dost thou owe.
Prithee but one, thy pretty love to prove;
No one in all the world shall ever know."
No one? That spying star but told a poet,
And in a song he let the whole world know it.
THE FIRST OF JULY 1916
For the Mothers, Wives, and Sweethearts
of the 15th West Yorks ("Leeds Pals")