WHITE MAGIC
Reading edition
Young man, be warned by me, And shun the hour When the full moon has power To sway men like the sea. I with my love kept tryst One moonlight night. Something did us affright— And she went home unkissed. We saw as clear as day The things we knew; Only the sky more blue Seemed, and the grass grown grey. Round us the orchard trees Like spirits stood— When she threw back her hood, She looked like one of these; So blanched the face I knew It seemed estranged: Its moonlight aspect changed My eager blood to dew. Disheartened, we returned; Nor met again. I have grown old since then, But I have never learned By what mysterious art The moonlight thieves Colour from the young leaves, And passion from the heart.