Lines in Pleasant Places Rhythmics of many moods and quantities. Wise and otherwise |
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DREAMING AND WAKING. |
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 | Lines in Pleasant Places |  |
252
DREAMING AND WAKING.
It is a valued gift that comes to me,
Freighted with grateful memories and love—
A cup wrought deftly from that cherished tree
Which Boston holds all other trees above
(The ancient Elm), and guards as jealously
As Brahmin favorites of the sacred grove.
Freighted with grateful memories and love—
A cup wrought deftly from that cherished tree
Which Boston holds all other trees above
(The ancient Elm), and guards as jealously
As Brahmin favorites of the sacred grove.
A cunning work, and beauteous to the view;
But deeper meaning does the object wear
To me than trick of art: I see anew
Long-vanished scenes and pleasures, and the share
My younger self had in the hours that flew,
To youth replete with glad emotions rare.
But deeper meaning does the object wear
To me than trick of art: I see anew
Long-vanished scenes and pleasures, and the share
My younger self had in the hours that flew,
To youth replete with glad emotions rare.
I grasp the cup, and to my inner sight
It seems a hand reached forth to clasp my own,
Out of the dusky shadows of the night
Which shrouds about the Past's deserted throne,
Or some loved form, emerging to the light,
That long from outer consciousness had flown.
It seems a hand reached forth to clasp my own,
Out of the dusky shadows of the night
Which shrouds about the Past's deserted throne,
Or some loved form, emerging to the light,
That long from outer consciousness had flown.
253
I roam again beneath the verdant shades,
With loving voices melting in my ear,
And the warm thrill my soul once more pervades,
As rapt I bow the cadence glad to hear.
Ah, blest companionship! again that aids
To make life hasten with a better cheer.
With loving voices melting in my ear,
And the warm thrill my soul once more pervades,
As rapt I bow the cadence glad to hear.
Ah, blest companionship! again that aids
To make life hasten with a better cheer.
The old tree murmurs blessings on the hours
That make the total of the summer eves,
The moonbeams flicker through its shade in showers,
And laughter ripples in its rustling leaves,
And love again unfolds its mystic powers
Through the sweet influence it from Night receives.
That make the total of the summer eves,
The moonbeams flicker through its shade in showers,
And laughter ripples in its rustling leaves,
And love again unfolds its mystic powers
Through the sweet influence it from Night receives.
Romance and youth! blest witcheries ye throw
About the path that all are called to tread;
And, thus reviewed, my spirit feels a glow,
Though Youth and Romance long ago have fled,
And Time has dared profane my locks with snow,
And young companionship is with the dead.
About the path that all are called to tread;
And, thus reviewed, my spirit feels a glow,
Though Youth and Romance long ago have fled,
And Time has dared profane my locks with snow,
And young companionship is with the dead.
Well, be it thus; I'd not again retrace,
More than in fancy, the enchanted years;
I sit and look the Future in the face,
And have no thought of sorrow or of tears;
There is no loss kind Heaven will not replace
In the broad realm that to our gaze appears.
More than in fancy, the enchanted years;
I sit and look the Future in the face,
And have no thought of sorrow or of tears;
There is no loss kind Heaven will not replace
In the broad realm that to our gaze appears.
254
Thanks for the gift, my old and constant friend,
Uniting then and now by its sweet spell;
And though no nectar from its lip descend,
This rill of song mayhap will serve as well,
Poured from a source that ne'er will know an end,
The heart's true spring, where endless friendships dwell.
Uniting then and now by its sweet spell;
And though no nectar from its lip descend,
This rill of song mayhap will serve as well,
Poured from a source that ne'er will know an end,
The heart's true spring, where endless friendships dwell.
| Lines in Pleasant Places | |