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.