THE FOOTPATH WAY
The winding road lies white and bare,
Heavy in dust that takes the glare,
The thirsty hedgerows and parched grass
Dream of a time when no road was.
Heavy in dust that takes the glare,
The thirsty hedgerows and parched grass
Dream of a time when no road was.
Beyond, the fields are full in view;
Heavy in herbage and in dew
The great-eyed kine browse thankfully;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
Heavy in herbage and in dew
The great-eyed kine browse thankfully;
Come, take the footpath way with me!
This stile, where country lovers tryst,
Where many a man and maid have kissed,
Invites us sweetly, and the wood
Beckons us to her solitude.
Where many a man and maid have kissed,
Invites us sweetly, and the wood
Beckons us to her solitude.
Leave men and lumbering wains behind,
And dusty roads, all blank and blind;
Come, tread on velvet and on silk,
Damasked with daisies, white as milk.
And dusty roads, all blank and blind;
Come, tread on velvet and on silk,
Damasked with daisies, white as milk.
Those dryads of the wood, that some
Call the wild hyacinths, now are come,
And hold their revels in a night
Of emerald flecked with candle-light.
Call the wild hyacinths, now are come,
And hold their revels in a night
Of emerald flecked with candle-light.
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