Summer Night

The dusk yet new across the blue
      The blushing sun is sinking late
Beneath the breeze of amber trees
      That settle under summer's weight
The cloudless beams rain down in streams
      And spread their light on silken dreams
And there she stands, her folded hands
      Beneath her smile beside the gate.

My fingers close on hers, and those
      Bright lips are parted as we meet
The forest sails on dusty trails
      Away in plumes beneath our feet
The land runs wide, and at my side
      The woods' enchanted glowing bride
Our moon cascades on sylvan glades
      And sets the air to stirring sweet.

The night lies bare upon her hair
      And whispered kisses draw me in
Until the last is firmly past
      And long we sit together then
I hold her free and close to me –
      Could this but last eternally!
And as we part, my longing heart
      Says only: "When we meet again..."

But now a slow and somber snow
      Lies on the gate and 'round the fence
And of our tryst, a sighing mist
      Is now the only evidence
My hope, grown cold, unseen, and old
      Still clings to summer's burning gold
My love! I fear I left you here
      And I have never seen you since!