 | Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard . |  |
61
PREMONITION
In a still chamber, a white bed of sleep
With soothing pillow, and a dream so deep
That it alone reality did seem,
And all reality was but a dream,
I woke as children waken,—in surprise,
With soft bewilderment of lips and eyes;
For I had felt upon my eyelids pressed
One darling baby kiss, upon my breast
A passing breath as of an angel-wing
Poising above me, fragrant, fluttering.
With soothing pillow, and a dream so deep
That it alone reality did seem,
And all reality was but a dream,
I woke as children waken,—in surprise,
With soft bewilderment of lips and eyes;
For I had felt upon my eyelids pressed
One darling baby kiss, upon my breast
A passing breath as of an angel-wing
Poising above me, fragrant, fluttering.
And then I breathed the subtle, sweet perfume
Of lilacs,—purple lilacs in full bloom;
Lilacs so cool and fresh, the flowers I knew
Just plucked; pale purple lilacs damp with dew.
Of lilacs,—purple lilacs in full bloom;
Lilacs so cool and fresh, the flowers I knew
Just plucked; pale purple lilacs damp with dew.
In ecstasy, I to the window flew,
Charmed with the garden of my dreams; but no!
There coldly fell the moonlight on the snow,—
The snow that lay like moonlight far below.
Charmed with the garden of my dreams; but no!
62
The snow that lay like moonlight far below.
Was it a memory that chose to bring
From my dream-garden a forgotten flower?
Was it a spirit that forestalled the hour,
And woke me with the first faint breath of spring?
From my dream-garden a forgotten flower?
Was it a spirit that forestalled the hour,
And woke me with the first faint breath of spring?
| Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard . | |