Author: Madison Julius Cawein

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    The frogs still cry, "Knee-deep! knee-deep!"
    Among its starlit pools,
    When dark the woodland lies asleep,
    And dusk its water cools:
    The fireflies round its bank of ferns
    Hang will-o'-wisps for lamps,
    Where in a place no eye discerns
    Enchantment's host encamps.

    The bats above it go and come
    In reeling rigadoons,
    While Elfland beats a beetle-drum,
    Or cricket-fiddle tunes;
    And in and out, and all about,
    The pixy people dance
    To katydid song and green-frog gong
    That hold the woods in trance.

    The moon looks, listening, through its trees
    As if to hear its calls,
    Or with long arms of light to seize
    Its twinkling waterfalls
    With Witchcraft who, a foam-white hand,
    Its glimmering banks between,
    Beckons from sand to riffled sand,
    To something far, unseen.

    A ghost, that leans beside it still;
    The phantom of a boy,
    Who followed once its wildwood will
    With barefoot troops of joy:
    The soul of him who yearns afar
    To see, in dusk and dew,
    If still it dances with the star
    That once his boyhood knew.

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Type of Poem: Lyric Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem masterfully intertwines elements of nature and folklore to create an enchanting narrative filled with magic and nostalgia. The theme primarily revolves around the unseen, mystical world that comes alive in the woodland at dusk. The poet employs personification, anthropomorphizing elements like the moon, fireflies, and even the woodland itself, lending a robust sense of life and character to the setting.

The tone of the poem is reflective and somewhat melancholic, revealing a longing for childhood innocence and joy. This longing is epitomized in the image of the phantom boy, a symbol of the speaker's past self, who is drawn to the woodland, yearning to reconnect with the magic he once knew. The use of onomatopoeia in words like "knee-deep" and "gong" and the playful language describing the forest creatures' activities create a vivid, auditory experience, bringing the reader deeper into the poet's enchanted world.

The poem's structure, with its consistent rhymed verses, further enhances the rhythmical, song-like quality of the narrative, mirroring the dance of the pixy people and the rhythm of the natural world. The poet’s effective use of imagery and metaphor, combined with the rhythmic structure and nostalgic tone, result in a poem that is both whimsical and poignant, a rich exploration of the intersection between the natural world, childhood memories, and the realm of the fantastical.