THE rosy musk-mallow blooms where the south wind blows, O my gypsy rose! In the deep dark lanes where thou and I must meet; So sweet! Before the harvest moon's gold glints over the down, Or the brown-sailed trawler returns to the gray sea-town, The rosy musk-mallow sways, and the south wind's laughter Follows our footsteps after! The rosy musk-mallow blooms by the moor-brook's flow, So daintily O! Where thou and I in the silence of night must pass, My lass! Over the stream with its ripple of song, to-night, We will fly, we will run together, my heart's delight! The rosy musk-mallow sways, and the moor-brook's laughter Follows our footsteps after! The rosy musk-mallow blooms within sound of the sea; It curtseys to thee, O my gypsy-queen, it curtseys adown to thy feet; So sweet! When dead leaves drift through the dusk of the autumn day, And the red elf-lanthorns hang from the spindle-spray, The rosy musk-mallow sways, and the sea's wild laughter Follows our footsteps after! The rosy musk-mallow blooms where the dim wood sleeps, And the bind-weed creeps; Through tangled wood-paths unknown we must take our flight, To-night! As the pale hedge-lilies around the dark elder wind, Clasp thy white arms about me, nor look behind. The rosy musk-mallow is closed, and the soft leaves' laughter Follows our footsteps after! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MR. HOUSMAN'S MESSAGE by EZRA POUND FACADE: 7. MADAME MOUSE TROTS by EDITH SITWELL EPIGRAM: A BURNT SHIP by JOHN DONNE SONNET ON SITTING DOWN TO READ KING LEAR ONCE AGAIN by JOHN KEATS THE MAHOGANY TREE by WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY |