The trail in starlight yellow-gold,
It tempted me, it beckoned me;
Its course was hemmed with marigold,
Honeysuckle, willow tree.
Fingerlings and vines took hold,
dangling from the canopy;
and everywhere a green so bold
It dazzled me; I could not see.

I followed the road, eager to know
Where this sacred path might lead,
In between trees, where a creature can go;
Where some other foot had beat down the reed.
But the starlight turned to blackest night,
And marigold line began to recede.
The trees grew great Bunyans; a frightening sight,
And the honeysuckle was ruined by weed.

Then beside me was a rustle of rushes,
The onion-locks shuddered and swayed.
A fairy appeared from the tangle of bushes
Where mushrooms fed and proud trees decayed.
“If you wish, I can take you, mortal, young mortal;
If you wish I can take you back where you’ve been!”
And then the thing chuckled, the fairy, it chortled:
“I’ll magic you back to the beauty you’ve seen.”

I looked at the creature; I weighed out the two.
“I think I’ll remain on my way,” I declared.
“For though it was beautiful, what I walked through,
This path, I believe, is going somewhere.”