Page:Poems Rossetti.djvu/77

So Margaret sang her sisters home
 In their marriage mirth:
Sang free birds out of the sky,
 Beasts along the earth,
Sang up fishes of the deep—
 All breathing things that move
Sang from far and sang from near
 To her lovely love;
Sang together friend and foe;

Sang a golden-bearded king
 Straightway to her feet,
Sang him silent where he knelt
 In eager anguish sweet.
But when the clear voice died away,
 When longest echoes died,
He stood up like a royal man
 And claimed her for his bride.
So three maids were wooed and won
 In a brief May-tide,
Long ago and long ago.