Classic Poem

1

'Twas in a garden of the rich
Where all were guests to roam
Down terraced lawns amid the gloam
Of a night in June.

2

Gallants gay, with ladies dight
In silk attire, were there;
But alien fine and debonair
Stood one alone.

3

And of that throng I knew not which
Could claim such cousin fair; —
Akin she seem'd to the merest air
Of a night in June.

4

An orchid born of the young moonlight
That trails thro' tropic bowers;
I found her 'mong those Northern flowers
So all alone,

5

Till our hostess, with a smile,
Came and led me to
That orchid-maid — and then all through
That night in June.

6

There came none other to my sight;
The orbed orange glow
Of lanterns lit a path to go
Off alone

7

Where bronzed Mexicans the while
On mandolins did play
Love tunes of Spain that seem'd to say
That night in June:

8

" O Senorita of Delight!
Lo, the hour of bliss!
Lo, the years have bloomed for this —
This alone!

9

" No carven Saint in marble niche
That pilgrims kneel before; —
No dream of Eldorado's shore
On nights in June

10

" Can lure across the tossing seas
With promise more divine
Than can the beauty that is thine —
Thine alone.

11

" Lo, this garden of the rich
Made wide for us, and free!
With all the crescent witchery
Of a night in June!

12

" And lo, the over-arching trees
That cover us from sight!
O Senorita of Delight!
Here — alone! "