Exmoor Verse: Dereliction
by
O’er the tears that we shed, dear
The bitter vines twist,
And the hawk and the red deer
They keep where we kiss’d:
All broken lies the shieling
That sheltered from rain,
With a star to pierce the ceiling,
And the dawn an empty pane.
Thro’ the mist, up the moorway,
Fade hunters and pack;
From the ridge to thy doorway
Happy voices float back …
O, between the threads o’ mist, love,
Reach your hands from the house.
Only mind that we kiss’d, love,
And forget the broken vows!