 | [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes |  |
DREAMS.
Whate'er before my sight appears,
One vision in my heart is borne,—
Two sweet, sad faces, wet with tears,
Seen through the dim, gray light of morn.
One vision in my heart is borne,—
Two sweet, sad faces, wet with tears,
Seen through the dim, gray light of morn.
And half o'ershadowing them, arise
Thoughts, which are never lulled to sleep,
Of one, whose calm, rebuking eyes
Are sadder that they do not weep.
Thoughts, which are never lulled to sleep,
Of one, whose calm, rebuking eyes
Are sadder that they do not weep.
O friend, whose lot it might not be
To tread, with me, life's path of ills!
O friend, who yet shalt walk with me
The white path of the eternal hills!
To tread, with me, life's path of ills!
O friend, who yet shalt walk with me
The white path of the eternal hills!
Gone are the moments when we planned
Those sweet, but unsubstantial bowers,
In some unknown and pleasant land,
Where all our future wound through flowers.
Those sweet, but unsubstantial bowers,
In some unknown and pleasant land,
Where all our future wound through flowers.
Into the past eternity
Have faded all those hopes and schemes;
That summer island in the sea
Slept only in our sea of dreams.
Have faded all those hopes and schemes;
That summer island in the sea
Slept only in our sea of dreams.
I know not if our hope was sin,
When that fair structure was upbuilt;
But this I know, that mine has been
The bitterest recompense of guilt.
When that fair structure was upbuilt;
But this I know, that mine has been
The bitterest recompense of guilt.
And the wild tempest of despair
Still sweeps my spirit like a blast;
Tears, penance, agonizing prayer,—
Could you not save me from the past!
Still sweeps my spirit like a blast;
Tears, penance, agonizing prayer,—
Could you not save me from the past!
| [Poems by Cary in] The poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary with introduction and notes | |