Classic Poem

Back she came through the trembling dusk;
— And her mother spoke and said:
" What is it makes you late to-day,
And why do you smile and sing as gay
— As though you just were wed? "
" Oh mother, my hen that never had chicks
— Has hatched out six! "

Back she came through the flaming dusk;
— And her mother spoke and said:
" What gives your eyes that dancing light,
What makes your lips so strangely bright,
— And why are your cheeks so red? "
" Oh mother, the berries I ate in the lane
— Have left a stain. "

Back she came through the faltering dusk;
— And her mother spoke and said:
" You are weeping; your footstep is heavy with care —
What makes you totter and cling to the stair,
— And why do you hang your head? "
" Oh mother — oh mother — you never can know —
— I loved him so! "