THE WIND WITCH

The wind that met her in the park,

Came hurrying to my side —

It ran to me, it leapt to me,

And nowhere would abide.

It whispered in my ear a word,

So sweet a word, I swear,

It smelt of honey and the kiss

It'd stolen from her hair.

Then shouted me the flowery way

Whereon she walked with dreams,

And bade me wait and watch her pass

Among the glooms and gleams.

It ran to meet her as she came

And clasped her to its breast;

It kissed her throat, her chin, her mouth,

And laughed its merriest.

Then to my side it leapt again,

And took me by surprise:

The kiss it'd stolen from her lips

It blew into my eyes.

Since then, it seems, I have grown blind

To every face but hers:

It haunts me sleeping or awake,

And is become my curse.

The spell, that kiss has laid on me,

Shall hold my eyes the same,

Until I give it back again

To lips from which it came.