The Man with the Hoe, and Other Poems (Markham, Pyle, 1900)/Shepherd Boy and Nereid
Shepherd Boy and Nereid
Ah, once of old in some forgotten tongue,
Forgotten land, I was a shepherd boy,
And you a Nereid, a wingèd joy:
On through the dawn-bright peaks our bodies swung
And flower-soft lyrics by immortals sung
Fell from their unseen pinnacles in air:
God looked from Heaven that hour, for you were fair,
And I a poet, and the star was young.
You'd heard my woodland pipe and left the sea—
Your hair blown gold and all your body white—
Had left the ocean-girls to follow me.
We joined the hill-nymphs in their joyous flight,
And you laughed lightly to the sea, and sent
Quick glances flashing through me as I went.