The Solitary1 Reper
Behold2 Her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland3 Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
STOP here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds4 the grain,
And sings a melancholy5 strain;
O listen! For the vale profound
Is overflowing6 with the sound.
No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travelers in some shady haunt,
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive7 numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago;
Or is it some more humble8 lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?
Whateer the theme, the maiden9 sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And oer the sickle10 bending;
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.