The Realm of the Red Fairy » Fairies in Verse

O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:24:10 +0000

O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Over men’s noses as they lie asleep;
Her wagon spokes made of long spinner’s legs,
The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;
Her traces, of the smallest spider web;
Her collars, of the moonshine’s wat’ry beams;
Her whip, of cricket’s bone; the lash, of film;
Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat,
Not half so big as a round little worm
Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid;
Her chariot is an empty hazelnut,
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies coachmakers.

~ William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

When I sound the fairy call

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:50:41 +0000

When I sound the fairy call,
Gather here in silent meeting,
Chin to knee on the orchard wall,
Cooled with dew and cherries eating.
Merry, merry, Take a cherry
Mine are sounder, Mine are rounder
Mine are sweeter, For the eater
When the dews fall. And you’ll be fairies all.

~ Robert Graves

Child of the pure, unclouded brow

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:49:24 +0000

Child of the pure, unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy tale.

~ Lewis Carroll

Hand in hand, with fairy grace

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:44:07 +0000

Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.

~William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Come away, O human child!

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:41:23 +0000

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.

~William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child“

Faeries, come take me out of this dull world

Red Fairy — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:35:05 +0000

Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.

~William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s Desire,” 1894