Poetry: Take Two

The Midsummer Faeries

When the forest lays still,

When dusk falls too soon,

When leaf and limb lay,

Bathed in sil’vry moon

At that stillest moment,
Fair Midsummer’s night,

Mortals lay in slumber,

Fog clouds all keen sight.

The faerie hour comes,
Silence swiftly ends,

Then twinkling bells and drums,

Bid the stars: descend!

Down they fall and land,
In green canopies,

And leave the sky above,

To rest in the trees

Faeries spring from hiding,

From rock, field, and dell,

Awestruck at the splendor,

Caught under the spell

Gently they untangle,

Each star from its snare,

Then each faerie claims one,

Boldly as they dare

Then tattered clothes vanish,

Old garments are shed,

Stars become bright raiment,

Stardust crowns each head

Radiantly adorned,

The festival starts,

Music pours from each mouth,

Sweet songs stir each heart

Drum and bells play again,

Fife takes up the call,

Music wends through the trees,

Notes that rise and fall

As one the faeries dance,

Stamping feet a blur,

Hands clap and laughter rings,

All dance to please Her

Suddenly She appears,

Amongst them She walks,

Their sweet and lovely Queen,

Who laughs as She talks

With shining golden hair,

White arms lifted high,

She softly sings and calls,

The moon from the sky

It flutters shyly down,

To the gentle Queen,

For such dazzling beauty,

The moon had n’er seen

With its brightest moonbeams,

It shapes Her a gown,

And weaves silk strands of light,

Into a bright crown

Then She leads them to dance,

And thus clothed in sky’s light,

They keep darkness at bay,

And dance through the night.