SEPTEMBER NIGHT
Reading edition
If that you ride by road or lane In the September dark, When there is neither mist nor rain, And nothing can you mark But a tall darkness for a tree, And for the road a gleam of white, And scent of leaves breathed heavily, It is a fairy night. Brief is the kingdom—nine hours long— That the good people hold, But it is full of whispered song, In the crisp breezes cold. And every dell, a darkling round Of shadow, when the moon is none, Holdeth a little chattering sound, Which cometh, and is gone. 1914.