the forest nymph

A glint of her hair or a flash of her shoulder 

That is the most I can boast to have seen, 

Then all is lost as the shadows enfold her, 

Forest glades making a screen of their green, 

Could I cast off all the cares of tomorrow

Could I forget all the fret of today 

Then, my heart free from the burdens 

I borrow, Nature’s chaste spirit her face would display.

                                                                       Ellis Parker Butler