A Dark Love Song of Faerie Land
translated from a lost language
Under the Lemon Tree
I told her I loved her
Under the lemon tree.
She laughed and whispered
‘I too . . . love thee!’At the railway station
As I kissed her goodbye
‘I’ll love thee,’ she promised,
‘Till the day I die!’I bought her a ticket
And gave it to her.
Her eyes were all shining,
She blinked back a tear.‘Beloved,’ she whispered,
‘For heaven’s sweet sake,
A whole week without thee—
My heart ’twill break!’As I kissed her in parting
A stranger passed by
Who looked at her darkly
With death in his eye.She followed him quickly
And hopped on the train—
And I never saw her
Ev-ever again.
