Willow, Willow From 'Hamlet' By William Shakespeare 1564-1616

Willow, Willow from 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) (Painting By George Dunlap Leslie) * * * Pale and fair, she gaily sits awhile, As if a lily, but not the child who seeks her private solitude and climbs across the wooden stile to find herself a magic land here at the quiet Willow Pond Old Willow Pond, her second home, She often comes, a lonely bird Praying for wishes to be heard Deep in her magic dreamer's trance Pretending today, upon the prince Who will ride a white stallion and offer the world Shallow edged kingdom, with twigs, and sodden leaves with odors of the earth, green moss and peat With roots of Willow trees and rotting logs and a crumbling bank where cattails wash their feet She will watch the minnows dart with lightning speed among the roots where wild ducks come to feed The very core and essence of the earth Born of melted snow, and sleet and rain The company of birds who roost amid the tree tops high And breathe the wholesome fragrance of the sky Trees that sway and swoon along the bank Remind her that love is restless as the wind Shedding leaves of amber, rust and gold Where ashes turn to dust, or blossoming dreams begin She listens, for the sound of horses hoofs O'er twig and stone, with watchful eyes so keen Across the mirrored face, a restless ripple seen Where tangled grass and weeping willows lean Upon the shores her struggles soon will cease Her favorite place to wish her splendid dream Pale and fair, she gaily sits awhile, As if a lily, but not the child who seeks her private solitude and climbs across the wooden stile to find herself a magic land here at the quiet Willow Pond _____________________________________________________ For Contest Sponsored By Isaiah Zerbst For a Link to the Painting: http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/George-Dunlop,-R.A.,-Leslie/Willow-Willow-From-Hamlet-By-William-Shakespeare-1564-1616.html?s=20x16&gclid=CK3jpO_TvrcCFep7Qgod0AgAsA