A FAERY SPEAKS

What I am I must not show -

What I am thou couldst now know -

Something betwixt heaven and hell -

Something that neither stood nor fell -

Something that through thy wit or will

May work thee good - may work thee ill.

Neither substance quite, nor shadow,

Haunting lonely moor and meadow,

Dancing by the haunted spring,

Riding on the whirlwind's wing;

Aping in fantastic fashion

Every change of human passion,

While o'er our frozen minds they pass,

Like shadows from the mirror'd glass.

Wayward, fickle, is our mood,

Hovering betwixt bad and good,

Happier than brief-dated man,

Living ten times o'er his span;

Far less happy, for we have

Help nor hope beyond the brave!