Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Under the Moon

Under the moon two lovers walked--
   The silver moon--the round, full moon;
Under its beams they softly talked,
   Of youth, and love, and June.
And they plighted their vows in the silvery light,
For their hearts, like the moon, were full, that night.

Under the moon they walked again--
   The setting the moon--the waning moon.
And scarcely a word was said by the twain.
   (Ah moon, you set too soon.)
For love, in one o' the hearts, like the rim
Of the waning moon, grew faint, and dim.

Under the skies a maiden stood--
   The cold night skies--the moonless skies:
She heard the owl in the lonely wood,
   And she heard her own deep sighs.
"Heart and skies devoid of light;
Oh God!" she cried, "what a dreary night!"

Under the skies is a narrow mound--
   The watchful skies--the starry skies.
And the rays of the moon, so full and round,
   Shine down, where the maiden lies.
And they shine on the fickle lover, who
Walks with another, and woos anew. 

1. Worldly Wisdom
2. I Shall Not Forget
3. At Eleusis
4. Be Not Attached
5. The Black Man's Claim

William Yeats Under the Moon ("I HAVE no happiness in dreaming of Brycelinde")

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