 | Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems |  |
169
Song of “The Knitting Girl.”
Late in the quiet night,
By the warm coal-fire I sit,
My hand and my heart both light,
And I knit—I knit—I knit.
And sometimes I interweave
A thought over which I grieve;
And then comes a gentle gleam
Of a beautiful light, and I dream—
I dream of a time to come,
But my voice and my lips are dumb—
And I think of a time now gone,
And a walk on the terraced lawn—
But all these soon disappear,
With a smile, or a sigh, or a tear,
And, joyous or sad or oppress'd,
With the midnight I slumber and rest.
By the warm coal-fire I sit,
My hand and my heart both light,
And I knit—I knit—I knit.
And sometimes I interweave
A thought over which I grieve;
And then comes a gentle gleam
Of a beautiful light, and I dream—
I dream of a time to come,
But my voice and my lips are dumb—
And I think of a time now gone,
And a walk on the terraced lawn—
But all these soon disappear,
With a smile, or a sigh, or a tear,
And, joyous or sad or oppress'd,
With the midnight I slumber and rest.
The shadows soon upward roll,
—Both night's and mine,—and the day
Comes down with its open scroll,
Which I read as it glides away:
'T is the same I have read before,
But I ponder it o'er and o'er—
'T is the same I shall read again,
In sorrow, or joy, or pain,
As the labor of life goes on—
But the goal will at last be won;
And I wait, as it comes more near,
With a smile, or a sigh, or a tear,
Now working, and now at play,
Never doubting the Better Day:
So here by the fire I sit,
And I knit—I knit—I knit.
—Both night's and mine,—and the day
Comes down with its open scroll,
Which I read as it glides away:
'T is the same I have read before,
170
'T is the same I shall read again,
In sorrow, or joy, or pain,
As the labor of life goes on—
But the goal will at last be won;
And I wait, as it comes more near,
With a smile, or a sigh, or a tear,
Now working, and now at play,
Never doubting the Better Day:
So here by the fire I sit,
And I knit—I knit—I knit.
| Miami Woods : a golden wedding and other poems | |