Dreams.And our duties lie before us, We lay our wishes by on secret shelves; In their napkins, wrapped securely, We enfold them, thinking surely They are hidden both from others and our- selves. But when Slumber sweetly holds us, And in velvet arms enfolds us, And the moonlight through the curtain faintly streams; Then from out their hiding-places, Clad in soft, bewitching graces, Come our wishes to. inspire and rule our dreams. How they haunt the midnight piLlow ! How the pulse swells, like a billow, As the dreamer clasps the thing he most de- sires! And his throbbing heart rejoices As he hears enchanting voices Singing, keeping rhythmic time to golden lyres. Wants he riches? power? honor? Fancy is a lavish donor, All he craves bestowing on his longing soul Oh, the ripe, delicious sweetness! Oh, the rare and rich completeness, As he quaffs with thirsty lips the brimming bowl! But alas! the sudden waking, When above the hill tops breaking, With its weary burdens bringing, comes the day! Then the dreamer grasps the real, Puts aside his sweet ideal, Deftly hides his dream within its nook away __Ellen P. Allerton. |
Annabel and Other Poems
Ellen P. Allerton
(New York: John B. Alden, Publisher. 1885)
Pages 83-84
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