A FAIRY prince came singing through the wood,
And sighing, “Out, alas!” and, “Well-a-way!
The world is grey, romance is dead, and hid
The rare princesses of an older day.”
The ranger’s daughter sang beside the well:
“Will none but princes pass by where I sit?
I am not fair for princes.” Her long hair
She twisted up and made a crown of it.
The prince came near and saw her by the well,
A low-born maiden wreathed with yellow hair.
She marked a careless prince and turned away
Her eyes, and breathed a sigh into the air.
But, ere they parted, Cupid, from a cloud,
Let through the sun. The day, erst grey and
cold.
Grew radiant; and the prince, beside the well,
Beheld a princess crowned in shining gold.
And she looked up and saw a man who loved,
Looked in his eyes and loved who looked through
them. . . .
They watched together, through the well-water.
Sink out of sight his prince’s diadem.
(Ethel Clifford)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, World Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Gold Poems, Hair Poems, Romantic Love PoemsBased on Keywords: low-born, ranger, princesses, well-water, well-a-way