THE DAPHNE BUSH
All about the daphne bush the happy fairies went,
And spread abroad their silken hair to catch its magic scent;
They chanted little silver tunes, they danced the whole day long;
The rosy bush was ringed around with chains of coloured song.
They danced, they sang, they flung about their tiny fairy names,
Till swiftly over all the sky there ran the sunset flames;
Then high into the glowing air they leapt with joyful shout,
And with the ruddy shreds of mist they wrapped themselves about.
Into my quiet garden close they swiftly dropped again
(The music of their merriment tinkled like falling rain);
Laughing they swayed, while from their hair they shook the
warm perfume,
Till all the place seemed filled with clouds of drifting
daphne bloom.
ALMS IN AUTUMN
Spindle-wood, spindle-wood, will you lend me, pray,
A little flaming lantern to guide me on my way?
The fairies all have vanished from the meadow and the glen
And I would fain go seeking till I find them once again.
Lend me now a lantern that I may bear a light
To find the hidden pathway in the darkness of the night.
Ash-tree, ash-tree, throw me, if you please,
Throw me down a slender bunch of russet-gold keys.
I fear the gates of Fairyland may all be shut so fast
That nothing but your magic keys will ever take me past.
I'll tie them to my girdle, and as I go along
My heart will find a comfort in the tinkle of their song.
Holly-bush, holly-bush, help me in my task,
A pocketful of berries is all the alms I ask:
A pocketful of berries to thread in glowing strands
(I would not go a-visiting with nothing in my hands)
So fine will be the rosy chains, so gay, so glossy bright
They'll set the realms of Fairyland all dancing with delight.