THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

In summer’s glow, where flowers brightly bloom,
A beauty sleeps beneath the willow’s shade;
Whispers of breezes ‘round her softly loom,
As if to guard, with tender hands, her gaze.
Each petal’s fall keeps silent, softly swayed,
Dreams woven through a tapestry so fair:
Nature’s breath, or reveries of sweet despair?
In dreams of youth, the future glows anew,
Resting by the waters, lost to time’s embrace.

• Walter Deverell