The Third Kissing-gate

She foots it forward down the town,
Then leaves the lamps behind,
And trots along the eastern road
Where elms stand double-lined.

She clacks the first dim kissing-gate
Beneath the storm-strained trees,
And passes to the second mead
That fringes Mellstock Leaze.

She swings the second kissing-gate
Next the gray garden-wall,
And sees the third mead stretching down
Towards the waterfall.

And now the third-placed kissing-gate
Her silent shadow nears,
And touches with; when suddenly
Her person disappears.

What chanced by that third kissing-gate
When the hushed mead grew dun?
Lo — two dark figures clasped and closed
As if they were but one.