Page:Poems Rossetti.djvu/69

"You should have wept her yesterday,
 Wasting upon her bed:
But wherefore should you weep to-day
 That she is dead?
Lo, we who love weep not to-day,
 But crown her royal head.
Let be these poppies that we strew,
 Your roses are too red:
Let be these poppies, not for you
 Cut down and spread."

MAIDEN-SONG.

LONG ago and long ago,
 And long ago still,
There dwelt three merry maidens
 Upon a distant hill.
One was tall Meggan,
 And one was dainty May,
But one was fair Margaret,
 More fair than I can say,
Long ago and long ago.

When Meggan plucked the thorny rose,
 And when May pulled the brier,
Half the birds would swoop to see,
 Half the beasts draw nigher;