Untimely Thought

I LOOKED across the lawn one summer's day; Deep shadowed, dreaming in the drowsy light, And thought, what if this afternoon, so bright And still, should end it?—as it may. Blue dome, and flocks of fleece that slowly pass Before the pale old moon, the while she keeps Her sleepy watch, and ancient pear that sweeps Its low, fruit-laden skirts along the grass. What if I had to say to all of these, 'So this is the last time'—suddenly there My love came loitering under the great trees; And now the thought I could no longer bear: Startled I flung it from me, as one flings All sharply from the hand a bee that stings.