We stood beneath a night of June, —
My cousin Kate and I, —
And over us the full-orbed moon
Stood regnant in the sky;
The whippoorwill his cheery tune
Sang from the brake hard by.
From folded flowers a breath of balm
Stole out upon the air;
She said, “So day's exulting psalm
Is followed by a prayer!"
I thought — "The night is wondrous calm,
And Kate is wondrous fair!"
The moonbeams kissed her lifted brow,
The zephyrs kissed her cheek,
And I — but Kate may tell you how
The thing I must not speak
Sent blushes to her face, as now,
To play at hide-and-seek!
