In separate herds the deer
    Lie; here the bucks, and here
The does, and by its mother sleeps the fawn: 
Through all the hours of night until the dawn
    They sleep, forgetting fear.

    The hare sleeps where it lies,
    With wary half-closed eyes;
The cock has ceased to crow, the hen to cluck: 
Only the fox is out, some heedless duck
    Or chicken to surprise. 50

    Remote, each single star
    Comes out, till there they are
All shining brightly:  how the dews fall damp! 
While close at hand the glow-worm lights her lamp
    Or twinkles from afar.

    But evening now is done
    As much as if the sun
Day-giving had arisen in the East: 
For night has come; and the great calm has ceased,
    The quiet sands have run. 60

WIFE TO HUSBAND

Pardon the faults in me,
  For the love of years ago: 
    Good-bye. 
I must drift across the sea,
  I must sink into the snow,
    I must die.

You can bask in this sun,
  You can drink wine, and eat: 
    Good-bye. 
I must gird myself and run, 10
  Though with unready feet: 
    I must die.

Blank sea to sail upon,
  Cold bed to sleep in: 
    Good-bye. 
While you clasp, I must be gone
  For all your weeping: 
    I must die.

A kiss for one friend,
  And a word for two,—­ 20
    Good-bye:—­
A lock that you must send,
  A kindness you must do: 
    I must die.

Not a word for you,
  Not a lock or kiss,
    Good-bye. 
We, one, must part in two;
  Verily death is this: 
    I must die. 30

THREE SEASONS

  ‘A cup for hope!’ she said,
In springtime ere the bloom was old: 
The crimson wine was poor and cold
  By her mouth’s richer red.

  ‘A cup for love!’ how low,
How soft the words; and all the while
Her blush was rippling with a smile
  Like summer after snow.

  ‘A cup for memory!’
Cold cup that one must drain alone:  10
While autumn winds are up and moan
  Across the barren sea.

  Hope, memory, love: 
Hope for fair morn, and love for day,
And memory for the evening grey
  And solitary dove.

MIRAGE

The hope I dreamed of was a dream,
  Was but a dream; and now I wake,
Exceeding comfortless, and worn, and old,
  For a dream’s sake.

I hang my harp upon a tree,
  A weeping willow in a lake;
I hang my silent harp there, wrung and snapt
  For a dream’s sake.

Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart;
  My silent heart, lie still and break:  10
Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed
  For a dream’s sake.