I call you mine—and yet that cannot be: Some gifted dreamer of the Long Ago Visioned your beauty and made haste to show Its charm and old-world loveliness to me; So that I ever wonder when I see Quaint little people of a distant land Walk gravely on your surface hand in hand, Attired in flowing robe and gay obi; Splashes of lacquer-red—jade—green and gold— Bright butterflies—rare flowers of rosy hue— With here a fleeting glimpse of Chinese blue— 'Twould seem as though that painter of the past In one great effort to express his art Had painted all the joy within his heart! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 16 by JAMES JOYCE CAVE PAINTING by HAYDEN CARRUTH CONTRA MORTEM: THE BEING by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE LANDSCAPE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS IS YOUR TOWN NINEVEH? by MARIANNE MOORE THE STORY OF THE ASHES AND THE FLAME by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |