Fairy Rings
Reading edition
Far and near on every hand Fairy rings bedeck the sand, Footprints of the sportive elves Dancing gaily with themselves; Hand in hand and round and round Treading circles on the ground Nightly, by the glow worm’s ray To the cricket’s roundelay. Ardently each woodland gnome Clasps a fairy from the foam, Waltzing till the wondering moon Sees each circle as a rune In a maze of mystery For the puzzled stars to see, While the revellers at dawn Leave a myriad circles drawn. Or perchance the compass grass Whirled by wandering airs that pass Has engraved those strange designs In its circumscribed confines. Archimedes never drew Circles more exact or true Than each needle pointed blade Razor edged and green as jade. Can we delve the cryptic sense From each grooved circumference? In the grass that etched those rings What immortal spirit springs? Or what inspirations stir The bewitched geometer To such elfin tracery On the sands beside the sea?