 | The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley |  |
995
IN STATE
Is it the martins or katydids?—
Early morning or late at night?
A dream, belike, kneeling down on the lids
Of a dying man's eyesight.
Early morning or late at night?
A dream, belike, kneeling down on the lids
Of a dying man's eyesight.
[OMITTED]
Over and over I heard the rain—
Over and over I waked to see
The blaze of the lamp as again and again
Its stare insulted me.
Over and over I waked to see
The blaze of the lamp as again and again
Its stare insulted me.
[OMITTED]
It is not the click of the clock I hear—
It is the pulse of the clock,—and lo!
How it throbs and throbs on the quickened ear
Of the dead man listening so!
It is the pulse of the clock,—and lo!
How it throbs and throbs on the quickened ear
Of the dead man listening so!
I heard them whisper “She would not come;”
But, being dead, I knew—I knew! ...
Some hearts they love us alive, and some
They love us dead—they do!
But, being dead, I knew—I knew! ...
Some hearts they love us alive, and some
They love us dead—they do!
996
And I am dead—and I joy to be,—
For here are my folded hands, so cold,
And yet blood-warm with the roses she
Has given me to hold.
For here are my folded hands, so cold,
And yet blood-warm with the roses she
Has given me to hold.
Dead—yea, dead!—But I hear the beat
Of her heart, as her warm lips touch my brow—
And O how sweet—how blinding sweet
To know that she loves me now!
Of her heart, as her warm lips touch my brow—
And O how sweet—how blinding sweet
To know that she loves me now!
| The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley | |