Spirits in Bondage

by C.S. Lewis

XXI. The Autumn Morning

See! the pale autumn dawn
     Is faint, upon the lawn
       That lies in powdered white
           Of hoar-frost dight

     And now from tree to tree
     The ghostly mist we see
       Hung like a silver pall
           To hallow all.

     It wreathes the burdened air
     So strangely everywhere
       That I could almost fear
           This silence drear

     Where no one song-bird sings
     And dream that wizard things
       Mighty for hate or love
           Were close above.

     White as the fog and fair
     Drifting through the middle air
       In magic dances dread
           Over my head.

     Yet these should know me too
     Lover and bondman true,
       One that has honoured well
           The mystic spell

     Of earth's most solemn hours
     Wherein the ancient powers
       Of dryad, elf, or faun
           Or leprechaun

     Oft have their faces shown
     To me that walked alone
       Seashore or haunted fen
           Or mountain glen

     Wherefore I will not fear
     To walk the woodlands sere
       Into this autumn day
           Far, far away.