The Witch-Maid, and Other Verses/Riding Rhyme

by Dorothea Mackellar

RIDING RHYME

Mount, in the morning dew;
A man loved me when the world was new.

Ride, ride while the dawn is cool:
I was angry and he was a fool.

Ride, ride through the shadows grey:
I told him to go and he went away.

Ride, ride through the sun's first gold;
I go alone now the world is old.

Ride, ride, for your horse is good;
He never came to me or understood.

Ride, ride, and you'll travel far;
I tore my heart out and hid the scar.

Ride with a man at your bridle-rein—
My man never will come again.

Ride, ride, for the sun is strong:
but a lonely road can be long!

Ride, ride, for the light grows dim:
What of the others? I wanted him.

Home, home, for the tale is told:
I was young and now I am old.