[Lyric] Longing (Sarah E. Burton)

Oh, for a breath of spicy woodland air,
The healing balsam of the odorous pine,
To thrill my nerveless pulse like beaded wine!
Oh, for some sylvan Hebe to prepare
For me the nectared cups of mosses rare
Till quickened sense shall catch the merry shine
Of hidden wood nymph's eyes that flash on mine
'Tween waving tresses of the maidenhair!

Oh, for a day of freedom in the wood!
To wander with head bared, with feet untamed
And cheek incarnadined with bounding blood,
Of Nature's code and impulse unashamed.
Oh, for a day so breezy, free, and wild
The dryads haste to claim me as their child!