Spring Love

By Francis Ledwidge

I saw her coming through the flowery grass,

Round her swift ankles butterfly and bee

Blent loud and silent wings ; I saw her pass

Where foam-bows shivered on the sunny sea.

Then came the swallow crowding up the dawn,

And cuckoo-echoes filled the dewy South.

I left my love upon the hill, alone,

My last kiss burning on her lovely mouth.

Poem dated: B.E.F.—December 26th, 1916.This poem taken from "Last Songs" by Francis Ledwidge, Published by Herbert Jenkins, London 1918 page 40checked and verified JSNotesB.E.F. -- British Expeditionary Force, a contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1914