As I Was Walking

s I was walking, Thyme sweet to my nose, Green grasshoppers talking, Rose rivalling rose: And wing, like amber, Dispread in light, As from bush to bush Linnet took flight: Master Rabbit I saw In the shadow-rimmed mouth Of his sandy cavern, Looking out to the South. 'Twas dew-tide coming; The turf was sweet To nostril, curved tooth, And wool-soft feet. Sun was in West; Crystal in beam Of its golden shower Did his round eye gleam. Lank human was I, And a foe, poor soul— Snowy flit of a scut, He was into his hole, And—stamp, stamp, stamp! Through dim labyrinths clear, The whole world darkened, A murderer near.