Regret Not Me

       Regret not me;
     Beneath the sunny tree
I lie uncaring slumbering peacefully.

       Swift as the light
     I flew my faery flight;
Ecstatically I moved, and feared no night.

       I did not know
     That heydays fade and go,
But deemed that what was would be always so.

       I skipped at morn
     Between the yellowing corn,
Thinking it good and glorious to be born.

       I ran at eves
     Among the piled-up sheaves,
Dreaming, 'I grieve not, therefore nothing grieves.'

       Now soon will come
     The apple, pear, and plum
And hinds will sing, and autumn insects hum.

       Again you will fare
     To cider-makings rare,
And junketings; but I shall not be there.

       Yet gaily sing
     Until the pewter ring
Those songs we sang when we went gipsying.

       And lightly dance
     Some triple-timed romance
In coupled figures, and forget mischance;

       And mourn not me
     Beneath the yellowing tree;
For I shall mind not, slumbering peacefully.