Don´t boast your unbelief in woods!
The dark leaves hide an ancient folk,
And it´s unwise to say aloud
That there´s no dryad in the oak.
Mock, if you will, the troll and faun
When safe in fire-guarded house
Or on the tamed turf of your lawn -
There no strange Powers will arouse
From ferny sleep in all their wrath
To numb your modern soul with fright:
This side man´s wall we name them myth -
The wilderness reveals their might.
Hush! Do not call the old gods “lies”
When under oak or ash or thorn,
Lest you be taken by surprise
Between the twilight and the morn.
And we could seek you everywhere
And never see, by moon or star,
One glimpse of hand or flash of hair
In any fields where mortals are.
