by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)

Bewitched
Language: English 
I have heard a lady this night
   Lissom and jimp and slim,
Calling me - calling me over the heather,
   'Neath the beech boughs dusk and dim.

I have followed a lady this night,
   Followed her far and lone,
Fox and adder and weasel know
   The ways that we have gone.

I sit at my supper 'mid honest faces,
   And crumble my crust and say
Nought in the long-drawn drawl of the voices
   Talking the hours away.

I'll go to my chamber under the gable,
   And the moon will lift her light
Into my lattice from over the moorland
   Hollow and still and bright.

And I know she will shine on a lady of witchcraft,
   Gladness and grief to see,
Who has taken my heart with her nimble fingers,
   Calls in my dreams to me;

Who has led me a dance by dell and dingle
   My human soul to win,
Made me a changeling to my own, own mother,
   A stranger to my kin.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 136.


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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-06-12
Line count: 24
Word count: 163