SELECTIONS IN ENGLISH >QETRY:
Shall stand the happy shepherd maid,
Alone in first of sunlit hours;
Behind her, on the dewy flowers,
Her homespun woollen raiment lies, 365
And her white limbs and sweet grey eyes
Shine from the calm green pool and deep,
While round about the swallows sweep,
Not silent; and would God that we,
Like them, were landed frpm.the sea. 310
The Sirens.
Shall we not rise with you at night,
Up through the shimmering green twilight,
That maketh there our changeless day,
Then going through the moonlight grey,
Shall we not sit upon these sands, 315
To think upon the troublous lands,
Long left behind, where once ye were,
When every day brought change and fear ?
There, with white arms about you twined,
And shuddering somewhat at the wind 320
That ye rejoiced erewhile to meet,
Be happy, while old stories sweet,
Half understood, float round your ears,
And fill your eyes with happy tears.
Ah ! while we sing unto you there, 325
As now we sing, with yellow hair
Blown round about these pearly limbs,
While underneath the grey sky swims
The light shell-sailor of the waves,
And to our song, from the sea-filled caves 330
Booms out an echoing harmony,
Shall ye not love the peaceful sea?
327