Josie Whitehead’s Poems
Hebers Ghyll Ilkley
BY THE WATERFALLS OF ILKLEY
By Josie Whitehead
By the waterfalls of Ilkley, my love and I did meet
Her eyes were filled with loveliness, her cherry lips were sweet.
She warned me not to love her, with a warning so severe
But my heart told me otherwise, and my ears, they didn't hear.
In the springtime, ‘neath the cherry trees, I looked at her again –
To tell me not to fall for her, was to tell me quite in vain.
She warned me not to love her – her words were loud and clear –
But now I’m standing by the riverside, without my Ruby dear.
Copyright 2007
This is an example of a “shadowed” or “mirrored” poem. See below: Down by the Sally Gardens by William Butler Yeates. You must not copy other people’s poems, but it is a good exercise to copy the style of a good poet in order to improve your own writing.
DOWN BY THE SALLEY GARDENS
By William Butler Yeates
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
PS http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/2754-William-Butler-Yeats-Down-By-The-Salley-Gardens