[Editor: This poem by William Blocksidge (also known as William Baylebridge) was published in Songs o’ the South (1908).]
In the Moonlight
How pensive now the resting earth appears,
Wrapped in her mantle wov’n of silver beams!
How beautiful the peaceful calm, that seems
Ordained to fondly soothe her waking fears!
Now oft the moon’s eye swims in misty tears,
As though full dear earth’s countenance she deems.
This is the time the lover fills with dreams,
And memory rambles down the bygone years.
Now fairies gambol in the flowery dells;
And magic harmonies enrich the gale
That softly moves above the scented vale.
’Twould seem a thousand mystic moonlight spells
Attend old Cynthia; and their charm excels
As Fancy learns to deck the dreamy tale.
Source:
William Blocksidge, Songs o’ the South, London: Watts, 1908, p. 49
Editor’s notes:
Cynthia = Artemis (in Greek mythology, the goddess of the moon), who was known as “Cynthia” as a nickname or epithet (Artemis was born on Mount Cynthus); may also refer to the Moon, especially in a literary context
oft = (archaic) often
’twould = (vernacular) a contraction of “it would”
wov’n = (vernacular) woven
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