STAR-SCANDAL

One summer eve, my own dear love and I

Sat arm-entwined beneath a rowan-tree.

A little wind flew past us with a sigh,

And all the velvet leaves waved merrily.

Then, as mine eyes escaped his ardent glance,

I saw a star peep o'er the purple hill

And climb up to the topmost branch and dance,

And wink at its reflection in the rill.

“Come, kiss me once, O timorous-hearted Love.

Full many thousand kisses dost thou owe.

Prithee but one, thy pretty love to prove;

No one in all the world shall ever know.”

No one? That spying star but told a poet,

And in a song he let the whole world know it.