Young man, be warned by me,
And shun the hour
When the full moon has power
To sway men like the sea.
I with my love kept tryst
One moonlight night.
Something did us affright--
And she went home unkissed.
We saw as clear as day
The things we knew;
Only the sky more blue
Seemed, and the grass grown grey.
Round us the orchard trees
Like spirits stood--
When she threw back her hood,
She looked like one of these;
So blanched the face I knew
It seemed estranged:
Its moonlight aspect changed
My eager blood to dew.
Disheartened, we returned;
Nor met again.
I have grown old since then,
But I have never learned
By what mysterious art
The moonlight thieves
Colour from the young leaves,
And passion from the heart.