Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Playing Tennis
PLAYING TENNIS
The winds are playing with her hair,
Her cheeks are flushing like the rose,
She stands with racket raised in air,
To catch the ball that comes and goes.
She springs more fleetly than the roe
And serves with swift unerring flight,
Like willows when the breezes blow
She bends, and sways, and turns, and light
Upon the lawn her footfalls pass,
As thistledown upon the grass.
Three brilliants brought from Afric's strand
Reflect the morning's rosy light,
And yet her eyes are twice as bright
As all the jewels on her hand.
Her cheeks are flushing like the rose,
She stands with racket raised in air,
To catch the ball that comes and goes.
She springs more fleetly than the roe
And serves with swift unerring flight,
Like willows when the breezes blow
She bends, and sways, and turns, and light
Upon the lawn her footfalls pass,
As thistledown upon the grass.
Three brilliants brought from Afric's strand
Reflect the morning's rosy light,
And yet her eyes are twice as bright
As all the jewels on her hand.