Poems, now first collected/The Wedding-Day
For other versions of this work, see The Wedding-Day (Stedman).
THE WEDDING-DAY
I
Sweetheart, name the day for me
When we two shall wedded be.
Make it ere another moon,
While the meadows are in tune,
And the trees are blossoming,
And the robins mate and sing.
Whisper, love, and name a day
In this merry month of May.
No, no, no,
You shall not escape me so!
Love will not forever wait;
Roses fade when gathered late.
II
Fie, for shame, Sir Malcontent!
How can time be better spent
Than in wooing? I would wed
When the clover blossoms red,
When the air is full of bliss,
And the sunshine like a kiss.
If you're good I'll grant a boon:
You shall have me, sir, in June.
Nay, nay, nay,
Girls for once should have their way!
If you love me, wait till June:
Rosebuds wither, picked too soon.
1878