Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DAY-DREAMS, by GRACE DENIO LITCHFIELD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DAY-DREAMS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Oh, sweet are the dreams that darkness brings
Last Line: The dreams of our waking hours.
Subject(s): Day; Dreams; Love; Waking; Nightmares


OH, sweet are the dreams that darkness brings—
The fragrant roses that slumber flings
Into the garden of night;
But sweeter far are the dreams that Day
Drops all along life's woful way,
As the Ivory Gates behind him sway
On their hinges of dappled light.

Oh, beautiful dreams, that spring like flowers
Out of the seeds of life's dark hours,
Watered with tears of pain;—
Lilies that bloom mid sterile sands,
Too frail to transplant to happier lands,
Too fair to gather in mortal hands,
Too dear to lose again.

Oh, beautiful, beautiful, waking dreams,
That flow like forest-hidden streams
By the foot-worn paths of Day;
Streams that go singing for Love's own sake;
Streams that their sweetest music make
Out of the very stones that break
The smoothness of their way.

Oh, exquisite dreams, that softly show
Through the grey-spun veil of earthly woe,
Like stars in wintry skies,
Too far to make our own, so near
They tempt our grasp, laid, large and clear,
On Night's dark forehead, sphere on sphere—
Jewels from Paradise.

O stars that vanish, O flowers that fade,
Streams that are lost in the woodland shade,
Bubbles that break with a kiss,—
O dreams that from the hidden roots
Of buried sorrows, like green shoots
Grow toward the light, yet bear no fruits,
Are ye less fair for this?

What though ye be naught but mist-made dreams?
Richer our lives e'en for fugitive gleams
Of hopes that may ne'er be ours!
Then pray for a dreamless sleep who will—
For a slumber no visions have power to thrill—
But oh, thank Heaven that gives us still,
The dreams of our waking hours.





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