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.