Nature

Evening in May

by Francis Ledwidge 1887–1917

From Songs of the Fields (1915)

NatureLove

There is nought tragic here, tho' night uplifts
A narrow curtain where the footlights burned,
But one long act where Love each bold heart sifts
And blushes in the dark, but has not spurned
The strong resolve of noon. The maiden's head
Is brown upon the shoulder of her youth,
Hearts are exchanged, long pent up words are said,
Blushes burn out at the long tale of truth.

The blackbird blows his yellow flute so strong,
And rolls away the notes in careless glee,
It breaks the rhythm of the thrushes' song,
And puts red shame upon his rivalry.
The yellowhammers on the roof tiles beat
Sweet little dulcimers to broken time,
And here the robin with a heart replete
Has all in one short plagiarised rhyme.

✦ ✦ ✦

A May night is 'nought tragic', one long act in which Love 'blushes in the dark'. The poem ends with the robin, who 'has all in one short plagiarised rhyme'.

MLA

Ledwidge, Francis. “Evening in May.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/ledwidge/7/.

Chicago

Ledwidge, Francis. “Evening in May.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/ledwidge/7/.

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