There is a morn by men unseen－1
Whose maids upon remoter green
Keep their Seraphic May－
And all day long, with dance and game,
And gambol I may never name－
Employ their holiday.
Here to light measure, move the feet 7
Which walk no more the village street－
Nor by the wood are found－
Here are the birds that sought the sun
When last year's distaff idle hung
And summer's brows were bound.
Ne'er saw I such a wondrous scene－13
Ne'er such a ring on such a green－
Nor so serene array－
As if the stars some summer night
Should swing their cups of Chrysolite－
And revel till the day－
Like thee to dance－like thee to sing－19
People upon the mystic green－
I ask, each new May Morn.
I wait thy far, fantastic bells－
Announcing me in other dells－
Unto the different dawn!
Whose maids upon remoter green
Keep their Seraphic May－
And all day long, with dance and game,
And gambol I may never name－
Employ their holiday.
Here to light measure, move the feet 7
Which walk no more the village street－
Nor by the wood are found－
Here are the birds that sought the sun
When last year's distaff idle hung
And summer's brows were bound.
Ne'er saw I such a wondrous scene－13
Ne'er such a ring on such a green－
Nor so serene array－
As if the stars some summer night
Should swing their cups of Chrysolite－
And revel till the day－
Like thee to dance－like thee to sing－19
People upon the mystic green－
I ask, each new May Morn.
I wait thy far, fantastic bells－
Announcing me in other dells－
Unto the different dawn!
(F.13/J.24)
[1–24] May, dance:: This poem describes the short story May-Pole of Merry Mount (1837) by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
[3, 6] May, Holiday:: a hint of May Day.
[14] ring:: a dance of people surrounding the Maypole.
[21] new May morn:: the first of May.
And Endicott, the severest Puritan of all who laid the rock foundation of New England, lifted the wreath of roses from the ruin of the Maypole, and threw it, with his own gauntleted hand, over the heads of the Lord and Lady of the May. It was a deed of prophecy. As the moral gloom of the world overpowers all systematic gayety, even so was their home of wild mirth made desolate amid the sad forest. They returned to it no more. But as their flowery garland was wreathed of the brightest roses that had grown there, so, in the tie that united them, were intertwined all the purest and best of their early joys. They went heavenward, supporting each other along the difficult path which it was their lot to tread, and never wasted one regretful thought on the vanities of Merry Mount. ─ The May-Pole of Merry Mount (1837)
You may, in your fancy, once more, and for the last time, Eusebius, dance round the Maypole in an account of “May Fair.” May Fair was once distant enough from City habitatation. “Where Apsley House now stands was a low inn, called the Hercules Pillars.” Heroic and classic reminiscences still attach to the spot. You have there the statue of Achilles, and near to the old watering-place,“the Triumphant Chariot,” stands the great conqueror's, Apsley House. May Fair was the site of a fair; and there, surviving the animosity and potency of the Puritans, was the Maypole again erected in 1661. Not only the Maypole, but fairs became a nuisance. There was a magnificent May-pole of enormous height; the Duke of York ordered the sailors to officiate in erecting it, to the sound of drums and trumpets. ─ Blackwood's Magazine (1855)