"I slept and dreamed that life was beauty, I woke and found that life was duty." I slept and dreamed; I thought life was a series Of happiness, of sunshine and of love; I saw no sign — no form I saw but beauty, A net of golden sunbeams hung above; Sweet, red buds kissed my feet; the wild birds warbled Their melodies from morn till dewy night. A charm lay o'er the earth, from greenest valleys Up to the lone snows on the mountain's height. I woke to life; the dream had flown to cloudland, And naught was left to please or comfort me; Hard, stern and cruel seemed all forms and faces, Ah! life was not a dream — reality; The roses all had thorns — each beam a shadow, Sad, minor chords stole into every song; But Right's bright sunlight streamed into the valley, And duty wandered by my side along. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A PRAYER TO THE WIND by THOMAS CAREW ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 63 by PHILIP SIDNEY BUONAPARTE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH IN THE WHITE LAND by KONSTANTIN DMITRIYEVICH BALMONT THE BODING DREAMS by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES TO A SPIRIT (1) by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN CHRISTMAS GIFTS by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING RED COTTON NIGHT-CAP COUNTRY; OR, TURF AND TOWERS: PART 1 by ROBERT BROWNING |