| Robert Graves (1895–1985). Fairies and Fusiliers. 1918. |
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| 44. Cherry-Time |
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| CHERRIES of the night are riper | |
| Than the cherries pluckt at noon | |
| Gather to your fairy piper | |
| When he pipes his magic tune: | |
| Merry, merry, | 5 |
| Take a cherry; | |
| Mine are sounder, | |
| Mine are rounder, | |
| Mine are sweeter | |
| For the eater | 10 |
| Under the moon. | |
| And you’ll be fairies soon. | |
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| In the cherry pluckt at night, | |
| With the dew of summer swelling, | |
| There’s a juice of pure delight, | 15 |
| Cool, dark, sweet, divinely smelling. | |
| Merry, merry, | |
| Take a cherry; | |
| Mine are sounder, | |
| Mine are rounder, | 20 |
| Mine are sweeter | |
| For the eater | |
| In the moonlight. | |
| And you’ll be fairies quite. | |
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| When I sound the fairy call, | 25 |
| Gather here in silent meeting, | |
| Chin to knee on the orchard wall, | |
| Cooled with dew and cherries eating. | |
| Merry, merry, | |
| Take a cherry; | 30 |
| Mine are sounder, | |
| Mine are rounder, | |
| Mine are sweeter. | |
| For the eater | |
| When the dews fall. | 35 |
| And you’ll be fairies all. | |
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