Oberon and Puck

Chapter 59: EVENING PRIMROSES.

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About This Book

A lyrical volume of poems alternating serious and playful tones, presented in two complementary groupings that range from meditative pieces steeped in faery and classical allusion to lighter, sprightly verse about nature, music, and childhood. Rich natural imagery—woods, flowers, birds, and seasonal change—permeates many lyrics, while occasional elegies and critical tributes honor other artists. Short ballads and children’s songs add narrative and comic sketches, and several occasional pieces contemplate rites of passage and parting. The poems employ varied stanza forms to balance romantic imagination, attentive observation, and gentle humor.

EVENING PRIMROSES.

While gray was the summer evening,

Hast never a small sprite seen

Lighting the fragrant torches

For the feast of the Fairy Queen?

The buds on the primrose-bushes

Upspring into yellow light

But ever the wee deft spirit

Escapes my bewildered sight.

Yet oft, through the dusky garden,

A dainty white moth will fly,

Or, pink as a pink rose-petal,

One lightly will waver by.

Perhaps ’tis the shape he comes in,

Perhaps it is he indeed,

Sir Moth, or the merry Cobweb,

Or the whimsical Mustard-seed!