Marshes at Evening
Broad and bleak,
by brooks divided;
Rank and dense
with reeds and saw-grasses.
Mantles of moss
masked the meres;
Curtains of earth-sighing
cloaked the currents.
Werelights winked
in the watery winds;
Lanterns fit
for the little people.
Woodpeckers tapped
at waterlogged bark;
Lovelorn frogs
sang loud and lustily.
Midges hummed,
menace to mortals;
Mosquitoes sang,
conquerors of kings.
Bitterns boomed
in the banks of reeds;
Herons stood vigil
on the highest branches.
Weather-tellers
watched for minnows;
Duckweed-lions
danced in the depth.
Ravens rang out
their rattling calls;
Thickets thrummed
with throstle-song.
Dragonflies darted
over dazzling pools;
Beetles bustled
in the bubbling springs.
Mayflies leapt
into momentary life;
Caddisflies uncoiled
from crystal cocoons.
As the orb’s endless spin
hid the eye of day
And the candles of night
were enkindled on the clouds’-street,
Green light shone
in the grayish ground-grief
And bobbed about
in the boles and boughs.
Water burned
with werelights after hours;
Birds cried warnings
from broken branches.