Alfred H. Miles, ed. Women Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Lyrics. VI. When the Brow of JuneEmily Pfeiffer (18411890)
W
And the air is faint and fain with her breath,
Then the Earth hath rest from her long birth-throes.
As she watcheth the cradle of Love and Death,
When the brow of June is crowned by the rose.
She sees you twins of one mind and faith—
The Earth at rest from her long birth-throes.
‘Let them strive and thrive together,’ she saith,—
When the brow of June is crowned by the rose.
But for strength and beauty he travaileth
On the Earth at rest from her long birth-throes.
Death winds about him a bridal wreath,—
As the brow of June is crowned by the rose!
For Love and Death are as Sword and Sheath,
When the Earth hath rest from her long birth-throes.
Which lovers have grace to see beneath,
When the brow of June is crowned by the rose
And the Earth hath rest from her long birth-throes.