ONCE in a dream, Between tall trees that had such golden flowers As only blossom there; Beside a stream whose voice was as sweet showers, And birds that sing between the twilight hours, I saw a maid who was most wond'rous fair, Once in a dream. Upon her face Was something of a never-fading Spring And youth that will not die. Her voice was as a thought of birds that sing Close to the stars, and on her everything Was white and pure, like clouds upon the sky Or stainless snows. And in my dream, As lost Love's eyes, her eyes seemed even so ... "I am a wraith," she said, "Of thy lost dreams and faith—thy Long Ago." ... To-day, awake in my dark world, I know It was my Youth I saw—my Youth long dead, Once in a dream. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BALLAD OF THE LORDS OF OLD TIME by FRANCOIS VILLON AN EPITAPH ON M.H. by CHARLES COTTON THE CULPRIT FAY by JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE PASSING BY by THOMAS FORD (1580-1648) TO LUCY, COUNTESS OF BEDFORD, WITH MR. DONNE'S SATIRES by BEN JONSON SONNETS TO LAURA IN LIFE: 131 by PETRARCH EL HOMBRE by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS |