Benjamin Britten — Encinctured with a twine of leaves

Encinctured with a twine of leaves That leafy twine his only dress! A lovely Boy was plucking fruits By moonlight, in a wilderness The moon was bright, the air was free And fruits and flowers together grew On many a shrub and many a tree: And all put on a gentle hue Hanging in the shadowy air Like a picture rich and rare It was a climate where, they say The night is more beloved than day But who that beauteous Boy beguil'd That beauteous boy to linger here? Alone, by night, a little child In place so silеnt and so wild - Has he no friend, no loving mother nеar?