IN THE COTSWOLDS

All day the rain Fell on the wheat And dripped from the gable On to the stone; And all day long I sat alone Save for the dog Who slept at my feet. Slept—till a-sudden He roused in fear, And snuffed at the door, And would not be quelled. I opened—and there An old crone I beheld, And round about her The dusk drawn near. Something she said— But her voice was hollow, And chill was the hand She laid on mine. Her words were a riddle I could not untwine; And when she turned onward I knew I must follow. I felt the watery Stubble souse My ankles, and round me Saw corn-shocks blurred. And faint and fainter Yet I heard The dog bark on In the empty house.