Living
Evening, and Maidens
From The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse (1912)
Now the shiades o' the elems da stratch muore an' muore,
Vrom the low-zinken zun in the west o' the sky ;
An' the maidens da stan out in clusters avore
The doors, var to chatty an' zee vo'ke goo by.
An' ther cuombs be a-zet in ther bunches o' hiair,
An' ther curdles da hang roun' ther necks lily-white,
An' ther cheaks tha be ruosy, ther shoulders be biare,
Ther looks tha be merry, ther lims tha be light.
An' the times have a-been — but tha cant be noo muore —
When I, too, had my jay under evemen's dim sky,
When my Fanny did stan' out wi' others avore
Her door, var to chatty an' zee vo'ke goo by.
An' up there, in the green, is her own honey-zuck,
That her brother train'd up roun' her winder ; an' there
Is the ruose an' the jessamy, where she did pluck
A flow'r var her buzom ar bud var her hiair.
An' zoo smile, happy maidens ! var every fiace,
As the zummers da come an' the years da roll by,
Wull soon sadden, ar goo vur awoy vrom the pliace,
Ar else, lik' my Fanny, wull wither an' die.
But when you be a-lost vrom the parish, some muore
Wull come on in y'ur pliazen to bloom an' to die ;
An' zoo zummer wull always have maidens avore
Ther doors, var to chatty an' zee vo'ke goo by.
Var da'ters ha' marnen when mothers ha' night,
An' there 's beauty alive when the fiairest is dead ;
As when oon sparklen wiave da zink down vrom the light,
Another da come up an' catch it instead.
Zoo smile on, happy maidens ! but I shall noo muore
Zee the maid I da miss under evemen's dim sky ;
An' my heart is a-touch'd to zee you out avore
The doors, var to chatty and zee vo'ke goo by.
Cite this poem
MLA
Barnes, William. “Evening, and Maidens.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/barnes/332/.
Chicago
Barnes, William. “Evening, and Maidens.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/barnes/332/.
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