The Beloved Vagabond

You who were once so careless, I can recall you now, Your blue-gray visionary eyes, your great and open brow, With naught to bind your heart-strings, and all the world in fee, You went where all the roads lead, beyond the farthest sea. Lover of space and skyline, what vision seared your eyes? What gypsy word was winged to you that bade you gird and rise? What thread of smoke sent onward your restless, eager feet? What vagrant heart was waiting your wayward heart to greet? We, who are kin to the city, across the candles praise Your tales of camps in twilight, your great and gallant ways, Your knowledge of the mysteries deep-hidden by the wood, The pagan trust you placed in man, the world you found so good. Then leave a patrin for mine eyes that I may follow too, Some day when all the world grows dim, and I shall beckon you; Across the distant moorland, from beacon furze piled high, May I, the newest rover, see your fire against the sky!