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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

The Satyr

C. S. Lewis

When the flowery hands of spring
Forth their woodland riches fling,
  Through the meadows, through the valleys
Goes the satyr carolling.

From the mountain and the moor,
Forest green and ocean shore
  All the faerie kin he rallies
Making music evermore.

See! the shaggy pelt doth grow
On his twisted shanks below,
  And his dreadful feet are cloven
Though his brow be white as snow—

Though his brow be clear and white
And beneath it fancies bright,
  Wisdom and high thoughts are woven
And the musics of delight,

Though his temples too be fair
Yet two horns are growing there
  Bursting forth to part asunder
All the riches of his hair.

Faerie maidens he may meet
Fly the horns and cloven feet,
  But, his sad brown eyes with wonder
Seeing-stay from their retreat.
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Spirits in Bondage | Heinemann, 1919
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