Page:Poems May.djvu/71

And pausing by the waters deep,
 Too slight to stem their rapid flow,
Too weak to dare the perilous leap,
 The fawn sprang wildly to and fro.
 Watching the flight of her lithe-limbed doe.

Now she hung o'er the torrent's edge
 And sobbed and wept as the waves shot by,
Now she paused on the rocky ledge
 With head erect, and steadfast eye,
 Listening to the stag-hound's cry.
Close from the forest the deep bay rang,
 Close in the forest the echoes died,
And over the pathway the brown fawn sprang
 And crouched at the hunter's side.

Deep in the thickets the boughs unclasped
 Leapt apart with a crashing sound,
Under the lithe vines, sure and fast,
 Came on the exulting hound;