I Remember a Maiden

I remember a maiden.

Her face invades my dream.

Her hair was black as the midnight wave,

Her eyes were brown and her smile was grave,

And her skin was smooth as cream.

 

She lived among the mountains

In a cottage thatched with straw.

She was only a modest country maid

But her ways were the ways of a lady

And her days are now no more.

 

Shy as a bird in the thicket,

Her voice was as sweet as a thrush

She scorned to visit the bustling town,

But roamed the hills as the sun went down,

And made the heavens blush.

 

Tender her touch and gentle

On her pony’s muzzle soft.

All the beasts of the field were her slaves,

And she queened it over the braves

Of the farms and the crofts.

 

Now there’s a twilight darkening

Since her sun has sunk to rest;

There was pain in my heart as it broke

For a word which I left unspoken,

And which burns in my breast !

 

Mona’s Herald     15.1.63