Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OUR OLD VERMONT PARLOR-ROOM, by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OUR OLD VERMONT PARLOR-ROOM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Of tiptoeing through our parlor-room
Last Line: I tiptoe fast away.
Subject(s): Dreams; Vermont; Nightmares


OF tiptoeing through our parlor-room
Of late I often dream;
I see the waxwork flowers a-bloom,
The hanging lamp agleam;
The whatnot still uplifts its head
In polished self-esteem.

The table with the top a-hinge
Is next the closet door;
The mats upon the zinc impinge
And cover half the floor;
I notice where the carpet shows,
It scarcely hasn't wore.

The stove, with burnished tube above
And moulded box below,
With maple chunks is still in love,
As in the long-ago;
I hear the roaring up the flue,
I see the hearth aglow.

The haircloth chairs and sofa still
Are where they used to stand;
The picture of an English rill,
With sheep on either hand,
Is hanging near the highboy there
A-jest as grandma planned.

I move a motto frame to see
A-how the paper wears;
It hasn't faded—seems to me,
Except the pinkish squares;
The ceiling still is white enough
A-so the whitewash stares.

And here is where the preacher stood
Upon that dismal day,
Of widowhood and orphanhood
And teams in long array;
His mournful voice dissolves the dream—
I tiptoe fast away.





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