Poems (May)/Eolie

by Edith May

EOLIE.

Oh, you are welcome as the dew
 To the worn feet of pilgrim day;
And wild and fresh, as flowers that keep
 The virgin bloom and breath of May.
Yet wilful as a hawk set free
 Ere whistle lure, or huntsman tame her.
Capricious as the bridal smile
 Spring half denies the skies that claim her,
You've slept since morning, unbetrayed
 By waving grass or whispering tree,
You're loitering now through grove and glade;
     Wild Eolie!

Oh, we were playmates long ago!
 And then I chased your flying feet
Over the brave rock-terraced hills,
 Over the valleys, green and sweet.
Your kisses woke me if I slept
 Where boughs unclasp, and shadows play,
And, starting from my childish dreams,
 I heard your low laugh far away.
Most gentle in your wily mirth,
 Yet elfin, half, you seemed to me,
T loved you more than I can tell,
     Wild Eolie!

I love you still; when even comes
 I hear you tread my chamber floor;
You sweep aside my curtain's fold,
 And turn the page I linger o'er.
For sunset is our trysting time;
 Our tryst we keep till stars convene,
Till, Thetis-like, from deeps of blue
 Upwonds the silver-footed queen.
Breaking the crystal calm of night,
 As light wings break a glassy sea,
Your low voice hymns me to my rest,
     Wild Eolie!

When through the heaven's serenest blue
 Move car-like clouds with lingering flight,
I image you a nymph like those
 That urge the shell of Amphitrite.
At morn you are a huntress fleet,
 And, cloistered from the heats of noon,
You seem at night a sister pale,
 Low chanting to the haloed moon.
By morn, and noon, and saintly night,
 I image what I cannot see;
And give your elfin tones a soul,
     Wild Eolie!