Source
Handwritten by Kipling in Sundry Phansies, a notebook presented by Kipling to ‘Flo’ Garrard, the beautiful art student with whom he had fallen in love after meeting her in the summer of 1880, when he was fourteen. There is no firm date for the poem, Pinney suggests 1881 or 1882.
The poem was never collected by Kipling, but is to be found in Rutherford p. 107, and Pinney p. 1608.
The Poem
This is a love poem. While the two lovers plot together (verse 1) or hide together (verse 2), their love will bring Joy and Peace even in Winter weather.
The self-conscious archaisms recall the two poems “Waytinge” and the headings to “The Page’s Message” and “The Page’s Song” .
See also “To You”, “Caret”, and “Solus cum Sola”.
[P.H.]
©Philip Holberton 2019 All rights reserved