Shepherd Boy and Nereid

Ah, once of old in some forgotten tongue,Forgotten land, I was a shepherd boy,And you a Nereid, a wingèd joy:On through the dawn-bright peaks our bodies swungAnd flower-soft lyrics by immortals sungFell from their unseen pinnacles in air:God looked from Heaven that hour, for you were fair,And I a poet, and the star was young.

You'd heard my woodland pipe and left the sea—Your hair blown gold and all your body white—Had left the ocean-girls to follow me.We joined the hill-nymphs in their joyous flight,And you laughed lightly to the sea, and sentQuick glances flashing through me as I went.