Mahon, Derek: Penshurst Place

The bright drop quivering on a thorn
In the rich silence after rain,
Lute music from the orchard aisles,
The paths ablare with daffodils,
Intrigue and venery, in the air
À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs,*
The iron hand and the velvet glove -
Come live with me and be my love.

A pearl face, numinously bright,
Shining in silence of the night,
A muffle crash of smouldering logs,
Bad dreams of courtiers and of dogs,
The Spanish ships around Kinsale,
The screech owl and the nightingale,
The falcon and the turtle dove -
Come live with me and be my love.

 
*Marcel Proust - In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower