Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/The Last Fair Day
THE LAST FAIR DAY
It was the last fair day of all the year,
Halfway between the realms of heat and cold,
When days are short and Boreas is bold
And summer fields and woods are bare and sere;
But all that there was left of warmth and cheer
This day had caught within its fleecy fold
Of summer sky, and o'er the frozen wold
The lancers of the cold fled back in fear
Oh! how the glad sun warmed the frozen earth,
Making her pulseless heart to beat again,
Dancing his sunbeams over hill and plain!
Until it seemed like Summer's second birth,
But e'er his orb had even time to dim
The night and cold fell like a pall on him.
Halfway between the realms of heat and cold,
When days are short and Boreas is bold
And summer fields and woods are bare and sere;
But all that there was left of warmth and cheer
This day had caught within its fleecy fold
Of summer sky, and o'er the frozen wold
The lancers of the cold fled back in fear
Oh! how the glad sun warmed the frozen earth,
Making her pulseless heart to beat again,
Dancing his sunbeams over hill and plain!
Until it seemed like Summer's second birth,
But e'er his orb had even time to dim
The night and cold fell like a pall on him.