PS 3527 .E9 S6 1922 Copy 1 ^iiS. EWSOM nraDuMQHMBBfflrase^^ittMfflStt^ua ifflm^nffl^RUHBmRsra^ Class _Ll_3^SJ Book -F., ■=T^J.. CopghtN?- CfiEXKIGHT DEPOSm Song and Dream Poems By DALLAS WALTON NEWSOM 1922 THE STRATFORD COMPANY, Publishers BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS ^ "b 6^ \ ^'^^ Copyright, 1922 The STRATFORD CO., Publishers Boston, Mass. The Alpine Press, Boston, Mass., U. S. A. MAV I i 1922 g)CLA681614 FOREWORD The author wishes to acknowledge the courtesy of the various publications in which most of the poems of this volume have previously appeared. GREETING For you I sing my little song Because I must, good friend; I might as well sing as I pass along For the cheer that it may lend; E 'er the fleet note turns Where the sunset burns And over the hill I bend. Dedicated to her who so faithfully travels with me this land of Song and Dream MY LADY SONG AND DREAM 1. Songs and Dreams of Love 2. Songs and Dreams of Life 3. Songs of War Contents PART ONE PAGE Songs and Dreams of Love When You are Near 1 The Little Clinging Bee 3 Away from Home and You .... 4 Spring 5 Butterflies 6 Lady May 8 Leap Year 10 Memories 11 To Blanche 12 Queen of the Hills 13 Reverie 15 The Ingle in the Cottage 16 Thine Eyes 17 To My Goldenrod 18 To My Lady 19 My Sweetheart 21 CONTENTS PART TWO PAGE Songs and Dreams op Life Caprice 27 To Trinity 28 "Babe Ruth" 33 In Defense of Bill, the Bard . . . .34 Beneath the Stars 38 To William Francis Gill — Gentleman and Scholar 38 Junetime on the Hills . . . . .43 The Easter Hope 44 The Fields of Home 46 The Light of the World 48 In Memory of Colonel George Washington Flowers 49 The Easter Song ...... 52 Christmas Night 53 The Wealth of the Poor ..... 54 The Winter Wind 55 Toilers of the Dust . . ! . . 59 To Mother 61 When I Hear the Robin Sing . . . .65 Ye Bards of Greece and Rome . . . .67 Uncle Jack 68 God's Mountains 70 CONTENTS PAGE Music 71 Another Page 72 To Shakespeare 73 Song and Dream 74 To Little Routh 76 The Hope that Dieth Not 79 To the Library 82 Our Little Tribe 83 The Court Supreme 85 The End of Day 86 The Old Farm Home 88 Non Omnis Moriar 92 To Mamma 93 Jes Keep Yer Heart Ready Fer T' Sing . . 96 The Ancient Road 99 Reproof 102 In the New-Ground 104 The Day That Is 107 To Our Sweetgum Tree 109 Reflection HO My Birthright HI To the Years 114 A Moment of Rest 115 In Memory of Everybody's Friend, "Marse Jim" 118 CONTENTS PAGE Lowering of the Class Flag .... 121 My Charge 124 Now I Laj^ Me Down to Sleep .... 125 Poppies 127 Sabbath Bells 129 Scribbling 131 Thanksgiving 133 To the New Moon 134 The Larger Light 135 The Campfires of the Angels .... 136 To a Fallen Leaf 138 Armenia 140 Vesperi Lux 142 PART THREE PAGE Songs of War America 145 A Nation's Prayer 146 At the Fireside of the Nation .... 147 To the Yanks in France 150 Soldier Greeting 151 To Our Boys Around the Campfires . . . 152 To the Khaki-Clad 153 Voices of the Christmas-Time .... 154 CONTENTS PAGE To the Sons of France . 157 Our Times Are In Thy Hands . . 158 To the Men of the Golden Star . . 161 Shadow and Song .... . 164 How Hath the Mighty Fallen . . 166 The Aftermath . 170 Disarmament . 172 SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE When You are Near UNDER my roof and by my fire I ne'er grow weary, never tire When yon are near. I wish the honr were a day And that the day might live alway My lady dear. You are the warmth of sunless days The quiet rest from weary ways That never end. The stars of night shine from your eyes. You are my rest from midday skies, My twilight friend. When through the halls I see you roam You turn the house into a home Wherein we live. When ends the day that seemed so long I love the lilt of your sweet song — The love you give. [I] SONG AND DREAM Like breath of dew that follows morn You follow me when I am gone From you away. Life 's incomplete, unfilled and lonely When I must go from you if only For a day. Then linger near while I am young And strike the golden chords you strung The day we wed. I crave no earthly gift or fame, Only to know you breathe my name When I am dead . [2] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE The Little Clinging Bee OLET me sip the nectar Like the butterfly and bee, They from the rich red tulips, I from the lips of thee. The butterfly soon wearies And wanders carelessly, But I with quiet patience Would linger like the bee. And when like him I wander To the hillside or the glen, I find myself soon turning To my rich red rose again. The butterfly goes flirting With the flowers wild and free, But close to thee I'd nestle Like the little clinging bee. [3] SONG AND DREAM Away from Home and You OGOD shall guard the distance, dear, That now between us lies And shuts from me the warmth that fills Your ravishing blue eyes. While gentle stars are whispering My dreams of love to you, I fancy I can see the smile That o'er your dimples flew. I would I were the summer breeze That plays about your cheek. Or wand 'ring silver beam that steals Through half-closed lattice peek. But when the morning comes, my dear. And the earth smiles through the dew, My glad steps shall be turning, love, A-turning towards you. [4] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Spring WARM zephyrs blow across the fields And violets and daffodils Leap up to feel the breath that steals Across the slowly-waking hills. The birds make love in every tree, The kine leap merry o'er the bars, The sunshine fills the day with glee And night kindles her brilliant stars. [5] SONG AND DREAM Butterflies OTHB lovelight of her eyes Like the warmth of dreaming skies, And his red blood how it flies To and fro ! Keats and Byron seemeth dull And old Wordsworth such a pull When his heart's so raging full, As you know. When he sees her passing by With the grace of butterfly And a cunning sweet and shy Then he feels That naught else is worth the while If he miss the simple guile In the springtime of her smile That he steals. How dare her greet that mild-eyed fellow With a whisper, soft and mellow ! Ah, I hear him wildly bellow ''Be it so!" [6] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE All the violet of her eyes Looks as bleak as winter skies And his heart in madness cries, ''Let her go!" [7] SONG AND DREAM Lady May THE merry Lady May doth spread Her soft umbrella o 'er the earth ; She brings a vast enticing shade, Soft music and a sylvan mirth. Her tender music wakes the heart To sunshine, then a shower of tears ; The sun peeps laughing through the clouds And pensive shadow disappears. I see a world of dew-bathed flowers Leap up to hear her silver strings; A listening silence fills the wood When Lady May comes out and sings. She leads her children out to play Beneath her soft and quiet sky Their youthful game of hide and seek, The bird and bee and butterfly. [8] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE When twilight sings her brood to sleep And voices of the day are still, She signals out her sentinels, The firefly and the whip-poor-will. All earth is clad in green and gold And promise blooms along the way, And youth and love and beauty meet In Lady May, in Lady May. [9] SONG AND DREAM Leap Year (With apologies.) GATHER your sweethearts while you may Real men are still aflying, And girls who woo so hard today Tomorrow will be sighing. [10] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Memories WHEN mem'ry's hall gleams all aglow With strange enchanting light And through the shadows of the years Come fancies, loved and bright, Methinks I hear songs sweet and clear, — The pleasant lays of other days. I strain the ear to catch the song Of long-forgotten melody — Glad voices coming home again ; How dear the realm of memory ! Sweet 'mid the bowers of evening hours The pleasant lays of other days. Ah, silence now ! a sacred voice Steals sweetly from the long ago; 'Tis mother's song, God bless her heart. And keep her till at last I go! Her sweet songs rise to bless the skies, — The pleasant lays of other days. [II] SONG AND DREAM To Blanche MORE softly never breathed an autumn eve, The very fields were murmuring soft and low A solemn hymn. No sounding wind did blow, But all was still. The sun did sweetly leave The world to you and me. Could earth conceive A happier, dearer eve ! A lingering glow Did spread the chill and vacant sky, and lo, All things seemed bowed in sacred prayer! I grieve To think how brief that eve, with calm so deep, Wlien all my soul did feel the joyous thrill, And from your eyes I saw the gentle leap Of feeling kin to mine. The beauteous still Of evening soon did flicker down the deep Of night, and stars loomed up across the hill. [12] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Queen of the Hills (Goldenrod) GRACEFUL and affable, lady-like queen, Bedecking the earth with a radiant sheen, Sister of sunlight, quiet and fair, Loving the thrill of the September air; Robed in your garments of ancestral ease, Alert to the touch of the slumbersome breeze, All of the wealth of the summer sunshine Lives in your countenance, sweetly benign. You introduce summer, now going away. With all of her splendor, light-hearted and gay. To the dignified autumn, so pensive and sad. Dreaming of days that were happy and glad. The violet, daisy and am'rous woodbine Were all but the harbingers, heralds of thine; Down the highways of summer your coming they told, — Of your goodly dominion and the power you hold. With meek, queenly grace you inherit the earth [13] SONG AND DREAM And speak in your silence of royal birth; You brought us the dream-skies of September days And purple and garnet are painting your ways ; All the earth with a reverence your majesty fills When you come with September out over the hills. [14] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Reverie 'rinlS midnight, and the glamour of chill frost I Doth haunt the earth! The wintry leaves are still; Night-spirit broods about yon lonely hill; High in the night, fleece-clouds, like lone sheep lost, Drift through the blue, and towards the earth is tost A startled meteor's splintered flame. The thrill. The mystery of the splendid night doth fill My list'ning soul! silent yon heavenly host! Hushed are the jarring clamours of the day. Love wings the voiceless shadows of the night, And through the glimmer of the moon 's highway. In words akin unto the soft starlight Calleth for thee. And now I shut away This night, but thou dost linger in my sight. [15] SONG AND DREAM The Ingle in the Cottage THE winds are whimpering at the door And oft with sadden, angry rush Our peaceful talk they would ignore, Then listen with a softened hush. But let the winds blow on dear girl And wildly sweep the wintry snows, Let darkening clouds their depths unfurl So the ingle in the cottage glows. The world sweeps on with reckless tread And lovers come and lovers go, And by our fire we count the dead Who once were here and loved us so. Then let us love while love we may. While the leaping heart no sorrow knows, While the night winds sound their frantic fray And the ingle in the cottage glows. [i6] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Thine Eyes AS THE waterbrooks and rivers Go a-singing to the sea, My thoughts are always turning, love, Are turning towards thee. As the birds turn toward the Southland Where the skies are warm and blue. So my heart is ever fleeting Toward the glad sunshine of you. As the needle seeks to wander Where the bright north star doth shine, So my life just keeps a-flitting Toward those star-like eyes of thine. [17] SONG AND DREAM To My Goldenrod FULL oft like some unthinking, lonesome cloud I stray, and linger free about yon hill; I feel the breath of autumn growing chill. The cold, green pinewoods murmur wild and loud, The daisies sleep, enwrapped with autumn shroud ; But you, bright goldenrod, are with me still. And when I scan the sombre fields, the thrill Of your meek countenance, unlike the proud And lustrous show of summer, leaps over me; And yet your stately motion in the breeze Doth give me thoughts of silent majesty; Your sweetly thoughtful mood and pensive ease Have won my heart; so on this hillside be My love; I'll love you more than neighboring trees. [i8] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE To My Lady (On her birthday) UPON your breakfast plate I lay On this another glad birthday A clump of roses from your lad, And though I know he's mighty bad Just take the roses and be glad You didn't get a meaner lad. The velvet leaves of tender May Spread glorious shade along your way ; Just as the sunbeams kiss the dew A birthday kiss I give to you, And as you turn another page I promise not to speak your age. The longer. Lady, you may live, The more, my Lady, would I give. To catch the dimple in your cheek, To hear the glad word you can speak ; To feel the Swiss air of your laughter. See the bright glance coming after. [19] SONG AND DREAM And though your years may swiftly go Your heart can never older grow, For your bright smile must always stay Just as it is this glad May-day. Thus may no far-off after years Bring to you aught of bitter tears. Just take the flowers that I bring, My love and a kiss and the song I sing ; No other gift, however rare. Could tell you more of the love I bear ; For love doth light the paths I tread And love shall last when I am dead. [20] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE My Sweetheart AH, WELL do I remember dear The day you stole into my life, Some patron spirit whispered clear ''Look thou upon thy future wife." "With me that day I sensed the grail And be the haven near or far. Whatever seas my bark might sail You were the bright controlling star. The mem'ry seemeth as a flower When from the stage I heard you sing, And from that glad, uplifting hour I was in love with everything. I loved the place wherein you dwelt And all the streets you passed along, The air you breathed, the winds you felt,- You led me captive with your song. Soft organ chords rang in your voice. The sound of sweet Italian strings; Your laughter made my heart rejoice Like overflowing mountain springs. [21] SONG AND DREAM I saw upon your guileless cheek The glow of nature, sunkissed, fair, No hand-made beauty, nature freak. Only your dimples nestling there ; — Dimples that gathered like the nymphs Along a peaceful river shore Where flit the wary water imps Like frightened birdlet passing o 'er ; — Dimples that played like fleeting sprite At eventide beneath the moon "When sailing cloudlet dims the light To tell of laughter coming soon. The strength and beauty of the hills Shone peacefully within your eyes And in your countenance the thrills And splendor of Italian skies. So womanly, sweetly serene. Of Greek-like caste and stateliness, With quiet, calm, madonna mien, Simple and lady-like of dress. I saw the sweetheart in your eye. The mother in your tender heart, A helpmate in your sympathy And strong love in your simple art. [22] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LOVE Vain 'twere to say it could not be, You could not, should not, would not love ; My heart was anchored fast to thee And from its moorings could not move. In sweet contentment did I move 'Mid dreams and fancies, work and play. With purpose set to win your love And hold you as my own some day. Nor time nor circumstance could change My strong resolve, whate'er betide. To chain your heart, however strange, And live forever at your side. Now hand in hand we go our way, With home and children, health and friends, — The blessed dreams of yesterday, — Where gladness reigns and love ascends. God bless the heart you gave to me With all its undivided love. And through the days that are to be May I a worthy lover prove. [23] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Caprice TWILIGHT spreads her dusky wings Each star in heaven its lantern swings The whip-poor-will enchanted sings But I am sad. The morning treads with softened hush The sun leaps forth with buoyant blush The trees are all with songs aflush And I am glad. [27] SONG AND DREAM To Trinity (My Alma Mater) WHAT mighty power that binds this gallant host! What mighty leader with unchallenged boast Leads ever on, triumphant in her move 'Mid loyal hearts chained by her deathless love ! Like brave Joan of Arc, a pure, white soul Speeds ever on toward high and worthy goal. With eye so clear, fixed on her country fair Whose liberation doth her voice declare. Out o'er a thousand hills of rugged soil Have gone strong sons who love strong man- hood 's toil, — Proud sons, high-minded, unafraid and true, Who love thy motto, love thy royal blue. Marshalled along the highways of the earth Stalwart they stand, the soul of honest worth; And though they build their way to worthy fame They ne'er forget the magic of thy name. [28] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Down through the years thy matchless spirit brave Hath wept to see strong sons laid in the grave ; New generations rise to swell thy power And flood with life and light thy saddened hour. The earthly mother dies that sons may live, But here brave sons pass on that they may give To thee new life, new power and new zeal, New glory and new visions to reveal. And evermore young hearts shall gather here Amid thy shade serene, from year to year; When our cheers and yells no more shall ring And thy glad songs no more our lips shall sing, Still other tongues, and lips of younger days Shall give their yell and sing their evening lays ; Shall swear allegiance, plight their sacred vow To shield and love thee as we love thee now. Thus shall thy strong sons ever come and go, Glad as they see thy noble spirit grow; Glad but to add new laurels to thy brow And at thy shrine on bended knee to bow. Thus back to thee they'll come, glad just to bring A new song home, and hear their mother sing; A new book for their mother's sweet delight, A tale of mem'ries 'round her evening light. [29] SONG AND DREAM Some day when yonder flag is low at mast And sunset bell proclaims our day is past, Strong arms shall still uplift thee on thy way And generous sons shall bounteous homage pay. Thy way is long, and though we love and die Our faithfulness may coming strength supply; And though against thee storms break with their might. Watch thou the hills of everlasting light ! Therefore sail on, thou mother ship, sail on ! Thou sailest o'er an endless sea whereon There is no haven sweet, no peaceful port Where sails may furl beneath a guardian fort. Train thou young hands, and strong, to man thy wheel. To watch the guiding star and know thy keel, — Revering hearts, that love thy hallowed source. To steer thee on thy true and worthy course. So shalt thou lower, from thine uplifted deck Full many a bark, and send it out to fleck The busy sea, to land with resting oars A worthy cargo on the sunset shores. Trinity, brave heart, thou shalt live on When those who love thee now are dead and gone! [30] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE 'Neath yonder sunlit dome the hoary sages Shall rest in sweet concourse through gathered ages ; A-trembling through the years thy massive bell With golden tongue stern duty 's charge shall tell, And from thy towering mast shall speak Old Glory Where youth shall ever learn fair freedom's story. Thy stately walls of darkly mellowed gray With prideful mien shall guard a by-gone day, Where faithful men who shaped the sordid clay Touched it with fire that blazed a larger way. And through the verdure of thy hills of green A Launcelot shall ever meet his queen. At even, by the doorways, shall resound Staccato yells and songs of pensive sound, And through the sweet, full-blooded days of June Commencement bells shall chime their parting tune. Thus shall tradition lead thee on thy way Until thy face shall beam through locks of gray. We gird thee now with ancient armor bright And charge thee to uphold the truth and right. Lose not the love that makes the mother heart Nor spurn the son who plays an humble part. [31] SONG AND DREAM Climb toward the light, nor grow too proud to pray, So shalt thou walk the broad triumphal way ; For with a mighty power shalt thou be shod, When clad in armor of the mighty God ; And sweet deliv 'ranee shall thy warfare bring While generations shall thy triumph sing. [32] SONGS AND DREAMS OP LIFE "Babe Ruth** BABY RUTH, Baby Ruth, With your simple stick You hold the eyes of age and youth With your savage lick. Baby Ruth, Baby Ruth, With your cool hawkeye. Some day I hope you'll send, by gooth, A meteor to the sky. I know you love that friendly stick That greets whatever 's twirled; It helped you play the diamond trick That sent you round the world. Here 's to your health, your fame, your all ! Swat 'em whene'er you can; I wonder who can find the ball When you become a man ! [33] SONG AND DREAM In Defense of Bill, the Bard ELUSIVE BILL! They dub you Shak or Shake, And zounds! they say you were, or else were never. And that, forsooth, you lived by Avon river Or elsewhither; that other scribes did make Your virile lines. Go to ! let dolts forsake Such thick-eyed musings. Knaves of lily liver! A plague upon them, cowards ! God deliver Thee from hungry thieves! 'sblood; awake! Pismires beneath a rock-built mountain peak That nibble fern seed and, behold, away! Tut ! puke-stockings ! boots it naught to speak Amid such loud and bootless gabble play ; Let Amamon his direst vengeance wreak While all thy matchless creatures save the day. God's me! thy workshop was the wide demesne Of living things and dead. Sublimest souls Of earth and air assume their varied roles At thy command, and thine alone. Serene [34] SONOS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Thy rights while Falstaff sweats, and o'er the green Doth trip Titania 's train, while fool cajoles A raging lord, or sweet Cordill consoles A king forlorn, and through the earth are seen Avenging ghost and sisters weird. Enough! Nor time nor place can claim thy quenchless pen. Nor dead nor living man can filch the stuff Which thou hast moulded in the shape of men. Capitulate, ye rogues and villians rough, Ye ruffian band ! and tread not here, again. [35] A SONO AND DREAM Beneath the Stars LONE I stand, with darkness closed about ! Through boundless realms of night my vision sweeps! Silent I stand, in ignorance and doubt! A new thought starts ! from wonder on it leaps ! Infinite Being, Infinite Time and Space, Whose mighty voice ten thousand spheres obey. How little need I hope e'er to embrace Of that broad domain which mine eyes survey ; I, who in silence dwell within a home, Of many, one, within the village bounds; The village one through which thel)reezes roam From Blue Ridge shim 'ring smoke to silent Sounds ! And when I think that e'en our stretching state Stands only one amid the kindred group. The group itself but one 'mid nations great That span our world, and on through stillness scoop The depths of space ; and then the mighty world But one faint gleam of light that ever streams [36] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE From countless spheres which rush with trem- bling whirl — One far-off ray 'mid universal gleams! Ah, when on this I dwell, the thought doth whip My being to nothingness. But sweet to know That in me dwelleth that which can outstrip Remotest flight of sense; whose eyes oft go Beyond the gleaming realms where starry sen- tinels Forever keep their silent watch, and catch The joy of being. U7] SONG AND DREAM To William Francis Gill — Gentleman and Scholar SO QUIETLY hast thou slipped from our midst That each new morn we look for thee as did'st Each gathered class in yonder listening room. But ah, how soon did fall the hush of gloom Upon thy friends ! no more the master bell Shall call thee to the task thou did'st so well. Thy country's flag which thou did'st honor so Gathers her folds and bids us, weeping low. To pause and bring a flower to thy bier And to thy side the warmth of mem'ry's tear. A score of years through campus paths and halls We saw thee move, and memory recalls Thy manly step, thy gallant courtesy, Thy kindly smile and inborn honesty, Thy frank and friendly heart, fearless and true. Too big to cherish selfish ends, which knew The ways of royal kindness and did bear A gracious mercy and forgiveness rare, — A heart immune from age, unhurt by wrongs, [38] SONGS AND DREAMS OP LIFE That moulded blood which to a prince belongs, Yet all too tender e'er to give a wound To friend or stranger. None hath ever found Thy heart closed to a human need or call, But rather would thy generous heart give all. And even more. Thou hast taught well, good friend. And thy last laboured page was not the end ; Well did 'st thou love the friendship of thy book, But more of life dwelt in thy kindly look; In every toil thy youthful zeal did wake To glorify all thou did'st undertake. We scarce appraised thy sterling, manly worth E'er thou did'st close thy book and quit the earth. It were unmeasured gift to feel and share The presence of a life so strong and fair. Sweet blessing to have toiled and talked with thee Whose life hath known such chaste, high com- pany As Vergil, with his fluent epic tongue. And Horace who with lyric beauty sung For thy delight ; and thou did 'st love and know The stately heart of grand old Cicero. How often hast thou followed Tacitus [39] SONG AND DREAM Or listened well to wise Lucretius; Keen Seneca did talk with thee and store Thy mind with serious and tragic lore Till thy friend Plautus, seeing thou wert sad, Would laughing come and bid thy heart be glad. Such were thy friends amid the templed hills Of fair Italia. So mem'ry fills The hour with silent grief and speechless pain That none shall know thy comradeship again. We miss thy courtly mien, the youthful eye, Thy bounding fellowship and honor high. Thou wert a man, a gentleman, and none E 'er knew thee but to love ; a noble son, True to a worthy name, a father's pride. Faithful to home did'st thou always abide. None loved his friends with prouder love or zeal Or laboured more to serve their wish and weal. The old boys of thy happy college days Hold thee in dear esteem; thy manly ways. Upright and clean, are mem'ry's treasured gift. To those of younger days thou did'st uplift The cordial teacher heart, the scholar's fame, — True reverence, the worth of wisdom's name. And little children felt, at sight of thee, A kinship in thy cheer and sympathy. [40] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Thy heart humane did 'st know and love full well The dog and horse ; though speechless could they tell To thee their tale of injury or woe ; Intuitively did'st thou feel and know Their thoughts and needs, and lavishly bestow Thy praise and providence, did'st ever throw About their life a friendly hand and word They understood, and answered when they heard. Thy petted steed loved well his gentle friend And happy did he seem could he but spend An evening out with thee. Poor speechless thing, With none to know his language or to bring His master home! The master heart hath fled. His latin tongue is still, the master dead ! The voice that made thy little home is stilled. The cherished dream of love lies unfulfilled; About thy home doth mourn the nestling pine And crave in vain the homeward step of thine. Too soon thou goest to thy well-earned rest And leavest all the pathways thou hast blessed. Rest on ! deep in the wildwood shalt thou dwell 'Mid sunshine and the birds thou loved 'st well. Thy Master kind hath led thee to thy sleep, [41] SONG AND DREAM But in our lives thy name is planted deep; Thy mother college raises o'er thy grave For all the fond devotion which you gave The mother words, ''Here lies an honored son He laboured well, his faithful work is done.'' [42] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Junetime on the Hills THE heavy dew lies on the vale, The breath of summer steals Along the shadowed woodland slopes And out across the wealds. The blackberry is clad in bloom, The mockingbird with trills Is caroling to all the world " 'Tis Junetime on the hills." wake and feel the boundless charm That cometh with the morn. Where dew-kissed flowers bow and smile And peace broods o'er the com. The cowbells tinkle down the vale. The world with music fills. And every creature spreads the news Of Junetime on the hills. [43] SONG AND DREAM The Easter Hope SEPULCHRAL darkness hid the sun, Rent was the temple veil; It seemed that ancient death had won And prophecy must fail. shattered band of faithful hearts, bruised hopes forlorn! The glory of the earth departs, The light of heaven gone. Pierced were His hands, His feet. His side. Ten thousand times His heart, To see Jerusalem deride. To feel the traitor's dart. Well might the skies in darkness frown On that dread day of gloom. Well might the mountains stagger down And seal man's earthly doom. * ' Forgive them, Father, for they know Not what they do, ' ' He said ; Thus did the Prince of Heaven go The way of all the dead. [44] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE shameful cross of Calvary, mad Jerusalem; craven court of mockery And rabble vile and grim! Silent within the rock-built tomb The Prince of Heaven lay, And barred and sealed that dismal room. Stern Romans guard the way. Must earthly life lose all its charms, The soul its sweet belief. Nor Moses, Prophets, nor the Psalms Could heal the spirit's grief? Forth from behind those darkened hills Sprang everlasting light; Eternal hope forever fills The gloom of yesternight. glorious dawn of Easter morn Bewildered world to free, Where faithful devotees, earthwom, Find immortality. [45] SONG AND DREAM The Fields of Home O YOUNG- and bright and happy, gladsome days, Could I call back your sunny, care-free ways And live again those full and timeless hours That ended 'mid the hush of evening bowers So cool and peaceful, sweetened with the dew And woodland song that only nighttime knew ! Could I look out and see the great moon rise And marvel how she climbed the stepless skies, And dream again those fair dreams of my youth And revel in the beauty of a truth New-born and wondrous, where a widening world Each day new glory and new dreams unfurled! stern and serious Time loose thou the cords And turn me back with kind assuring words To those fair days again and let me be A wand'rer through those fields so fair and free. Where breath of clover rode upon the breeze And busy songbirds tenanted the trees; Where jolly playmates coming up the lane Would greet me with a joy almost profane, [46] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE And climbing o'er the treach'rous old rail fence Would join me with a satisfying sense Of well-earned leisure! Onward would we, stroll 'er ditch and bramble, on through wooded knoll And down the shadowed hillside to the creek So filled with every creature shy and sleek; Where all the livelong day no thought of time Could hurry our young feet from mud and slime ; Till nightfall and the thought of storied witch Would drive us back o'er bramble and o'er ditch To where the home lights beckoned o'er the hill, And the home call of the dear old whip-poor-will Would bring us all with boyish appetite To suppertime and stories of the night. Father Time, I pray thee let me roam Back to the fields and friends of that dear home And hear those voices, feel the boyish thrill 1 knew in that dear home upon the hill ! [47] SONG AND DREAM The Light of the World OGOD of all the heaven and earth Look down on us tonight And point us to that manger birth Where shines a holy light! Let not our feet forget the way Believing shepherds trod, But follow till the dawn of day The light that leads to God. [48] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE In Memory of Colonel George Washington Flowers SON of the South, and lover of his land, Who led her stalwart sons with brave com- mand And cast away the after-sting of hate, — A patriarch in home, in church, in state, To all of which high honor did he bear And blessed them with a record high and fair, — Nobility was moulded on his brow. His manly voice doth call us even now To things of high estate. Like some great oak That towers on a hill where lightnings broke To find it unafraid, unmoved, unshorn. When stormy night had brought the quiet morn, — On such a summit did his figure stand, A sturdy watchguard o'er his chosen land. Amid the councils of his fellowman Erect and stalwart vigil who could scan [49] SONG AND DREAM The smooth and devious ways of bribe and whip Yet walk the bleak highways of statesmanship. To him the world was ever young and he Was young of heart ; his cheek bore blushingly The cherry-stain of youth. He loved us all, Our running-track, our tennis and our ball. Lover of all our sports, our faithful friend And steadfast patron, watching to the end The fall or rise of chances in the game And ever jealous for our luck or fame. With manner gracious, chaste of tongue, sin- cere. With upright guarded step that knew no fear. He gave us silent lectures as he passed And lived for us the finer things that last. Such princely life, to those who bear his name Is rich inheritance and honored fame. The city felt a pride, a sense of wealth. Uplifting ownership and rugged health To have his manly presence on her street To move where citizen and stranger meet; 'Twas strength and courage to our rising youth To see him walk the ways of simple truth. On Sabbath morn our faith grew strong the while We watched him pass adown the temple aisle. [50] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Thus was his life high-minded and serene, Of pleasant courtliness and quiet mien; A colonel of the olden time was he With gentle and commanding gallantry. Such might our generation seek to be In naked worth and fine simplicity. Most worthy nobleman, whose loyalty, whose love, Whose willing helpfulness will ever move Our hearts to feel the debt for such as he And bear his life in gracious memory ! Think not he walks no more these pleasant ways Forgotten to the men of coming days, For memory hath chiseled with her knife A living, moving statue of his life. [51] SONG AND DREAM The Easter Song AH, FORWARD to this glorious morn Looked dreary ages long To catch the vision, heavenborn, And hear the Easter song! Prophetic were the hopes that swelled The yearning breast of man, For through the far years he beheld What faith alone could span. Now backward to that hallowed morn The countless millons turn To catch the echoes that were born Where tear-stained raptures burn. Let all the hearts that fill the earth Join with that countless throng And hail the day that brought the birth Of hope's glad Eastern song! [52] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Christmas Night O HAPPY, holy hallowed night So dear to all the earth, Whose memories grow ever bright Of that world-centered birth! How every glad heart strangely bnrns Beneath thy star-built light, When the far-spent year in rapture turns To Christmas Night! Light all the earth, eastern star, Live on, angel song! Let vvise men journey from afar In ever widening throng. Beyond earth's gladsome Christmas tree. Children of wild delight. Behold the Gift to you and me On Christmas Night! [53] SONG AND DREAM The Wealth of the Poor THIS is thy world. The, meadows green, Triumphant song of bird, The morning fields in dewy sheen, The hills that clouds begird; The stars that run an ancient round That poets loved and left, Shall be thy wealth, serene, unbound, — man of hope bereft! The winds, and ocean's endless lash. The clouds that o'er thee fly. The thunders, born of lightning's flash — The land, the sea, the sky; These are thine own unwearying wealth. The thrill of each new day. The gift no hand shall seize by stealth. No law can take away. [54] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE The Winter Wind WHO Cometh here, thou vandal bold, Ice-hearted, ruthless, bleak and cold, From yonder northern ice-built throne To claim so lightly as thine own The lovely things that summer knew And all she heired from springtime too ! You drove the songbirds from the fields And seized the breath the flower yields, You hushed the music of the stream And broke the peace of autumn dream; The honey-bee and butterfly In terror fled when you came nigh; The leaves all fluttered through the wood And hid from thee as best they could; The summer clouds float drear and dry When thy dread form goes stalking by. The countenance of lake and pond Grew stonelike 'neath thy waving wand; You lock the rivers and the bays And send the ships through distant ways ; The mossy banks of ditch and road Reared icy fingers as you strode [55] SONG AND DREAM O'er copse and glen and fern-clad dell, And marred their life with your dire spell ; And heaven 's eyes glint cold and blue And gaze afar with awe at you. You sent Jack Frost as secret spy To tell you where our treasures lie ; 'Tis thy delight to shriek and roar And hear the children slam the door ; The pine trees murmur at thy voice, There's not a cricket to rejoice. The whole world shudders at thy sound ; Thy cold tread freezes all the ground. What bold intrigue dost thou forswear To leave thy frigid, ice-bound lair And stalk the highways of our land To smite us with thy tyrant hand ? So spake the child. The wind replied. When he had heard, and gently sighed: ''You do me wrong, my hasty child, For though I come from regions wild I am thy friend, I bring no harm; Though cold, I bring a heart that's warm. I am the king of cheer and health And own the store of winter wealth. [56] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE I drive away the scorching heat Aiicl bring new strength to weary feet ; I paint the earth with glist'ning snow And hang the ice-lace as I go; I give the sky the glowing red And chant night-songs about your bed ; I build a fire in every home And give the night its ruddy gloam; I bring the popcorn, nuts and fruit, The voice of violin and flute Around the happy evening fires, And stories of the old grandsires ; I bring glad laughter as I pass And warm the hearts of lad and lass; The mistletoe and Christmas-tree And yuletide lights all come with me. I put wild joy and glad surprise Into the little children's eyes; I send the sleighbells o'er the hills And bring the stockings Santa fills. The candy-stew and quilting-bee And merry crowds all follow me." ' ' pardon, sir, ' ' the young voice said ; ''In truth, kind sir, I am afraid [57] SONG AND DREAM I saw you with unseeing eyes; You walk the earth in fine disguise; Henceforth your goodness I shall sing In praises worthy of a king ; Your ice-clad heart is warm and kind, Long live my friend, the winter wind." [58] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Toilers of the Dust 10 OK up, look up, ye swarthy men, J Ye grinders of the dust, With eyes lured by the siren earth, Forgetful of your nobler birth; Look up to yonder hills! Stand up, man, and lift thine eyes, Be still and lend thine ears! The birds are caroling the morn. The green is passing from the corn ; Hie then unto the hills. Why seek alone the taste of bread. What ails thine appetite? Why trail the dust and count the cost While near thee stand forever lost Majestic, cloud-built hills? Come sing a song and dream a dream, Away with earthward care ! Insensible to whispering skies. The sunset's passing from thine eyes Over the burning hills. [59] SONG AND DREAM Let no low-hanging evening star Nor foot-tread of the dew Elude thy list'ning, quiv'ring string; Shut from thy soul no beauteous thing Watch thou upon the hills. men who burn the hurried flame, Lured by the lucre lust, Go take the poisoning gold of thine, Go fling it to the chastening Rhine And mount God's virgin hills. Ye men who tent the silent heights, Who ken the sweeping worlds, Call out to those who toil and must To lift their vision from the dust And look unto the hills! [60] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE To Mother SWEET tender watcher of our younger days And faithful guardian of our far-spent ways, Thou gentle mother soul, why hast thou fled ? Dear heart, we scarce can feel that thou art dead, So close to us thy vigil, angel eyes. Thou seemest not in God's far-distant skies. But still dost follow, lookest to our needs ; The hungry heart still harkens back and feeds Upon those precious years. As morning dews Upon a thirsty sod, our life renews Its lilt and hope with memory of thee While thou did'st share this brief mortality. Still can we hear, from those far-distant days The sleep-lull of the crib and happy lays, The foot-tread through the dimly-burning light To add a quilt on cold December night; If in the dark did'st hear the childish cry 'Twas thy dear hand that lulled the frightened sigh; And if thj^ little one, sleepless or sick [6i] SONG AND DREAM Should breathe thy name, watchful and quick Did'st thou bend o'er the little crib again To lift thy precious one and soothe the pain. In boyhood days 'twas still thy tireless hand That healed the bruise or stitched the tazzled band; With mother pride you wrapped the lunch for school, Kissed us and bade us break no golden rule ; Through ripening years thy love and counsel sweet Gave us a heart our daily tasks to meet. When years had fled and all thine own had left The mother home and mother heart bereft, — Still could we hear, through shadows of the night The lullaby that kept youth 's paths so bright. Could we but know, when all the earth is glad How soon the heart must bleed, forlorn and sad. For those who journeyed with us side by side. And e'er the journey's end grew faint and died ! Could we but hear those far-off bells and know That dear ones soon should hear the call and go To join the music of a distant shore And journey with their comrades nevermore. How we should cherish every sacred hour And bind our friendships with a deathless power [62] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Of sweet communion, sympathy and love Akin to that which angels know above! mother heart, you gave unto the world Its love and tenderness, and hast unfurled Its mysteries of Godly sacrifice! By simple trust, and by thy sweet device Thou hast lent everywhere unto the eartli A lasting glory and a sacred worth. Upon a white peak, with thy teardrops wet, A fountain of forgiveness thou hast set; And every sister, every manly brother Adores the life or memory of mother. Thou art the dearest gift of this brief life. The shrine of every husband, every wife ; In wisdom's place, or on the savage tongue Immortal tribute to thy name is sung. Brave chivalry, and manly courtesy Leap forth in noble pride at sound of thee ; High reverence and sweet humility Were born with thee, and our nobility. You gave the world its hope, its faith, its song. And all its sacred prayers to thee belong. Where 'er the angel hand of mother comes She blesses man and fills the earth with homes. Ah, hallowed home ! how shines its radiant throne, [63] SONG AND DREAM So clustered with the best the world hath known ! And in the world the task to her is given To cradle it and rear it close to heaven. So ever thus we bless thy sacred name And add our tribute to thy dauntless fame ; And though in bitter tears you left us here To spend our days without you, mother dear, Our lives shall bear the impress of your blessing, The comfort of your mother arms caressing ; And through the quiet of your trusting way We catch the vision of the toming day. [64] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE When I Hear the Robin Sing OI'M glad to see the robin With high head and fleetsome wing O'er the upturned new-ground bobbin' As if looking for the spring ! His cheery voice breathes animation And there's sunshine on his breast As he roams the whole plantation With an old friend's eager zest. O'er the hills the fields are smoking Where the war-god's winds go by ; Along the marsh the frogs are croaking And I know that spring is nigh ; For the violet is peeping At the winter frost, so shy, And the crocus heads are leaping Towards the springtime of the sky. On sunny slopes the plant-beds glisten And the earth yields to the plow; Anxiously I stand and listen With a yearning on my brow ; [65] SONG AND DREAM For my heart with hope is flushing As I hear the robin sing Where the maple trees are blushing 'Neath the maiden touch of spring. its long since last we parted In the chill October days, When with shrill, wild note you started Towards the warmth of southern ways ; And I'm glad the fields are burning And the insect finds his wing, For I know the north wind's turning When I hear the Robin sing. [66] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Ye Bards of Greece and Rome SPIRITS of a glorious age and art, Majestic on yon ancient heights you stand ! Enduring admiration ye command, The zeal of every eager, longing heart. Unto the ages did your souls impart A vision splendid and a promise grand. But lo ! forgotten is your beauteous land, Unsung your songs within the busy mart. Be patient, ye men of changeless worth ! Until our age can fell its forests fair ; With garnered grain can store the ports of earth And start its winged monsters of the air. And surfeited, another age's birth Shall dravv^ the veil, and glory shall ye wear. [67] SONG AND DREAM Uncle Jack (For long years a faithful college janitor) DEAR to the heart of Trinity Was Uncle Jack; Soul of fine fidelity Though he was black. With loyal heart, devoted, true, He did his tasks as heroes do And made a friend of all who knew This good old man. He taught us what we strive to find In learned halls, — A stalwart faith, a fear that's blind When duty calls. He has built a manly fame, Lived a life that knew no blame ; Generations love the name Of Uncle Jack. [68] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE He walked in plain humility With grateful heart; With courteous gentility He played his part. Rugged pattern of the brave, High devotedness he gave; A noble man doth fill the grave Of Uncle Jack. [69] SONG AND DREAM God's Mountains MADE in Thine own great matchless way, Thy pond'rous thoughts of yesterday, Thy vulcan hand did pile them high Until they whispered to the sky. Fearless and bold they lift their head, Calm, unafraid of lightning ^s dread, Peak list'ning to peak in peace sublime. Forgetful of distance and heedless of time , Slow, desert-like caravan in far-away haze Trailing a pathway so ancient of days. Rising and bending in unending tramp. Lifting the stars for their twilight lamp ; Mute monsters from ages primeval, and proud That they bulwark the sea and cradle the cloud ; Immovable sentinels guarding the earth And dreaming of ages that brought them to birth; Communing with heaven yet one with the sod, Akin to the earth and yet living with God. [70] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Music 1H0PE when all our songs are ended here And silent stand the halls and templed choirs ; When trembling dies the breath of earthly lyres That often brought the full, unbidden tear ; Yvlien all the tongues that kept the old earth glad And kept her pathways carefree and so bright Through toilsome days and through the darksome night, And brought sweet solace where the heart was sad; — I hope w^hen music shall have quit the earth. Her last sweet dying notes by angels borne Shall echo back to that glad primal morn Where music 'mid the angels had her birth. [71] SONG AND DKEAM Another Page THOU patient Watcher of the buried years And of the 3^ears to be ; who see 'st the rage And tumult of a fierce and furious age, Forgive our haste, forgive our trembling fears ! With childlike grief and bitterness of tears We ask Thee for a new, an unstained page. Let naught but records high henceforth engage Our fateful pen; give us the faith that rears Our little lives to mountain lands, that throws A grandeur o'er the task we do, and lifts Above the thorn the glory of the rose; That through the shadows sees the hopeful rifts That patience in her labored waiting knows When last she comes with all her gleaming gifts. [72] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE To Shakespeare AGAIN returns the month that saw you go, The fairy month of greensward and bright flow^ers Where nymphs and fairies chase these hearts of ours Through shaded dells where scented blossoms grow. With master heart and genius thou did'st show Unto the world the fine and subtle powers Of laughter, song and merry jest. But lo ! No more they feel the health of fairy hours. Thou denizen of every age and tongue, Bring back thy train of creatures, fancy-born, And make our frenzied hearts cheerful and young, Forgetful of their cursed cares, ageworn ! Eternal youth dwells where thy creatures sung And on thy green care's grimy locks are shorn. [73] SONG AND DREAM Song and Dream 'rj^IS not the power of might and brawn I That shapes the plastic earth, But ye who sing and ye who dream Shall see creation's birth. The light that spreads o'er all the world Springs from your tuneful breath, And surging through a mystic past Your tongue shall fear no death. Ye hold the music of the stars, — Sing on ! sing on ! and dream ! The portals of the universe Rise from your subtle power And leap to beauty as the night Builds silently the flower. Your tongues have caught immortal strains, Your souls have touched a chord; tuneful tongues, vibrant souls. Lose not thy golden word ! Silence no rapturous bar or rhyme, — Sing on! sing on! and dream! [74] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Ye souls who lift the world with song And keep it young with dream, Who strike the harps of melody And trail the holy gleam, Sweep forth as some vast organ strain Across the strings of time; Exalt the earth with hallowed breath Of music and of rhyme. Ye bring the angels close to man, — Sing on ! sing on ! and dream ! Far in the dark beginnings vast. Gigantic, shapeless, still. It was the dream of Alpha, — The ocean, sky and hill. The psalm of God, the dream of life Leapt out across the world And angels sang when they beheld The glory there unfurled. son of dreams ! child of song ! Dream on! dream on! and sing. [75] SONG AND DREAM To Little Routh SHE'S gone, and even mother's plea Can never bring her back From out God's great eternity So distant and so black! dimpled cheek and dimpled arm ! childish, trusting eye ! Could even Monster Death do harm When little children cry? And yet she cried, and Death did seize My child, so lily-pure; Nor all the strength of earth could ease The pain she must endure. helpless earth ! shameless Death ! When little children cry And lift their little hands for breath. And helpless, have to die ! The anguish of a mother's heart, A father's speechless pain, — To see a clinging child depart, And love 's endurance vain ! [76] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE When by my study fire at night I watch the flames and dream, I see her in the evening light A sweet angelic gleam. I loved to watch the wild delight Flash from those baby eyes Whene 'er she caught the glorious sight Of open doors and skies. She loved her little hat and cloak The great outdoors and flowers, And all the little words she spoke Were treasured pearls of ours. The little clothes are laid away All made by mother's hand, And little brother has to play Along the lonely sand. Somewhere amid the silent stars Her baby spirit rose, And we are left behind the bars With grief God only knows. could I call her back to earth Not for my baby's sake, But for the hearts that miss the mirth That baby used to make. [77] BONG AND DREAM Could we but know, could we but love As our poor hearts have yearned, Ere to that spirit land above Our precious ones have turned ! Life's happy half was spent in dreams Of happy days to be. When joy looks out and gladness seems As endless as the sea. Life's sadder half then leads us back To dwell in memory, And then into that erstwhile track To God's eternity. But there I hope to clasp my child ; I must, 'twould not be heaven Could not this ceaseless longing wild Such comfort there be given. [78] SONGS AND DKBAMS OF LIFE The Hope that Dieth Not rr^ HERE must be a land where a joyous toil _J_ Waits the touch of the tireless hand, Where the flowers of earth in a heavenly soil Shall hallow that glorified land; Where thorn groweth not and the tares never spoil — For we toil and we toil and we toil. beautiful land of a fadeless dream That hath lighted the pathway of man And beckoned him on with a gladdening gleam That encircled his earthly span ! It must be even as it doth seem — For we dream and we dream and we dream. musical land of an endless song, Of a chord never lost to the world, Whose notes ever sound as a mammoth world gong And on through the ages are hurled ! There must be a heaven to which we cling — For we sing and we sing and we sing. [79] SONG AND DREAM There must be a land where our hope cometh true, Where the lights everlasting are burning ; Where we come within reach of the grail we pursue, For which human hearts have been yearning; There must be a light 'yond the dark path we grope — For we hope and we hope and we hope. There must be a land of unfaltering love Where the heart is as true as the stars ; Where a merciful balm shall forever remove From the bosom its wounds and its scars; Where an infinite love rules the blue sky above — For we love and we love and we love. Beyond the far-distant horizon way, Beyond our earth sight and earth ken. There must be a land with a glorious day And the white angels singing ''Amen;" There must be a land where the great God doth stay — For we pray and we pray and we pray. There must be a land where the good never die, Where sin never calls us to save; [80] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Where the heart never fills with a sorrowful sigh, — A land never scarred with a grave. There must be a land where no death cometh nigh — For we die and we die and we die. [8i] SONG AND DREAM To the Library SET for the years, with sturdy, stately mien. Thou lookest out upon our nation 's life And seemeth glad that 'gainst the blightful strife Of ignorance thou can'st toil, silent, serene. Amid the culture of thy large demesne Lift thou the growing mind to regions rife With universal truth. With heartless knife Prune thou the clinging shackles and make clean Our thought; but let not wrinkled knowledge chill Appreciation's glow. Unto the mind New beauty wake ; let human thought grow still The bolder; build ambition large; but bind High knowledge to a childlike heart that will Revere almighty God and love mankind. [82] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Our Little Tribe TWO little girls and one little boy Make our life a round of joy, Thirteen and eight and six were they When they passed the last birthday. Four little lives to us were given, But one day God took one to heaven. Our hearts were then weighed down with sorrow And each day brought a sad tomorrow. As days passed by God gave us power To bear the pain of such an hour. With violet, buttercup and rose We walked the path where sorrow goes To that little spot upon the hill Where teardrops bathe the daffodil, And there with tender thoughts and flowers We lived again her childish hours. But God and these are left us still. And she that sleeps upon the hill Hath bound us all in stronger tie Because God took her to the sky. m SONG AND DREAM Dear little hearts of childish ways, Stars of our nights, light of our days, With skates and wheels and dolls and toys To fill your hours with tireless joys, We join you in your wild delight And back to childhood days so bright We fly the kite and toss the, ball And hear those childish voices call — Ah ! only three call us from nigh, The other calls us to the sky. [84] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE The Court Supreme FULL oft the soul, oppressed, doth pant and yearn For reign of justice, order and the right, As seen and known in heaven's unerring light. Full oft the sad and wearied eye would turn From warped and fettered courts of men, and spurn Their sordid judgment and their selfish sight. But thou, God, dost stand with matchless might Behind man's blinded judgment, dost discern The far-hid motive's birth. joy that thou Dost justice love ! One wrong forgot would crash Thy universe. No thunderbolt need plough The earth to make thy justice known; the flash Of heaven doth come with every inward vow. Or bitter blight, the sting, the hellish lash. [85] SONG AND DREAM The End of Day OTHE thousands we meet in the hurrying street Have something within the heart That lightens the load On the toil-trodden road And whispers a better part! I know not where the hard burdens they bear Will rest when the night comes on! But away from the street There's a refuge sweet When the thoughts of the day are gone. It may be a roof from the wide world aloof, A cot and a fire called home; But it shuts out the pain And the grim thought of gain ' And the glare of the vaunted dome. [86] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE There may be some friend at the journey's end That quickens the homeward trail, That throws a glad light Down the dark of the night And a heart that shall never fail. It may be the mild tender heart of a child, Or the love of a brave, dear wife. That hallows the way Of a hard-fought day With the smile of a patient life. It may be a place just to bury the face, A plain but a dear old chair. With a bit of green sod And the sweet voice of God Through the still of a lonely prayer. the life of a sigh where the fond hopes die And despair and dead dreams stay, Shall see the home light 'Mid the hush of the night Akindling the end of day ! [87] SONG AND DREAM The Old Farm Home FAR yonder where the dark-top pines Float level in a sea of blue, Where dreamy smoke retires and lines The tree-tops with a pallid hue; Often there my thoughts are turning, Gladly would I cease all learning Could I but fulfill this yearning Old Home for thee. I can see the old-time dwelling Standing with an ancient mien, All its walls and columns telling Of a splendor now unseen. On the hill the oak-tops looming, In the sun the flow'rs are blooming And distill their sweet perfuming Old Home for thee. Weather-beaten is thy covering, On thy side the moss hath crept; Twitt'ring swallows gayly hovering O'er the chimneys now unkept. [88] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Boldly stands thy massive form, Defying still the raging storm, And my love grows ever warm Old Home for thee. Once was heard the healthy laughter In the first fresh hours of morn, And no slumberer lingered after Once had winked the eye of dawn. Joy there was in tilling soil, Sweet contentment followed toil And unknown was life's turmoil Old Home with thee. When flickers evening sun to gloom The cowboys o'er the meadows roam And through the valley's wild perfume The cows come drifting slowly home. Far adown the vale rings out The careless cowboy's mellow shout And all things wend their homeward route Old Home to thee. When at last the week was done, Came the day of holy rest, Father, mother, daughter, son Sought the old church to be blest. [89] SONG AND DREAM There the truth was simply told, The same old story as of old, And it did more love unfold Old Home in thee. In the pensive afternoon "When the leaves forgot their hold. Each with the other did commune And each that fell a story told; Then came the social talk of neighbors Talking of their rugged labors. Not of strife and bloody sabres — Old Home of thee. When the hours were speeding fast And the fire was growing low. When each flicker seemed the last And dying embers faint did glow; Then the Holy Book was read. From each heart a prayer said And each, happy, went to bed Old Home in thee. Today the basement's bare and still, Some spirit lurketh in its gloom. And the spider spins at will With no hand to stay its loom. [90] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Up the winding stairs I wander, At the top I halt and ponder, And I wish for those up yonder. Old Home for thee. But years ago they left us here To run the world as we might choose ; The old farm home they held so dear Was left for us to keep and use. But now we walk the busy street With worried brain and wearied feet And ever crave that dear retreat Old Home with thee. let me breathe the generous air And feel the wildwoods course my veins. There I can pray a natural prayer 'Mid universal choral strains. And on that same familiar scene Where first set forth my life serene may my soul this vesture wean Old Home from thee ! [91] SONG AND DREAM Non Omnis Moriar COME, weary Soul! let not the course of earth Fret thy life ; revive thy sullen spirits ! Oft will the thoughtless age bedim Thy countenance, and in thy secret ease Oft wilt thou breathe a deep-drawn sigh To start the world anew. But come, live on ! thou art a princely heir ! Therein the world will ever envy thee And ever be a variance with thy life. But labor on, and only be thou true ; For earth can never know but half Of what thou wast, and even that It cannot understand. Some friend in tears Will say that thou wert brave And duty thy delight. Be that enough ; Some day thou shalt behold The purple of Elysian fields. And glim 'ring stars that through The silent tramp of years Have glinted dimly o'er thy head unknown, May smile and whisper soft Well-done, Eternity! [92] SONGS AND DREAMS OP LIFE To Mamma AH ! 'TIS a box from home, I said, A letter by its side, Whose lines with eager eyes were read And with a loving pride. The box I bared with joy supreme, And 'neath the top there lay Rich roses, red and white and cream In beautiful array. Then in a cup arranged with care Each floret found its room; Their rich aroma filled the air, Their smiles repressed all gloom. Meek couriers of love so true, I hold you doubly dear, Because the hand that nourished you Is my chief helper here. Had I but speech, ah then my tongue Thy beauty should declare ; Thy sweetness should not die unsung. Thou queen of flowers fair. [93] SONG AND DREAM But I feel 'twere better paid In my allotted days To see and feel what God hath made Than dream of pleasant lays. 'Tis strange to me that there should be In God's fair world of flowers, One single soul that fails to see The glories which are ours. Beneath thy loveliness, sweet rose. There grows a piercing thorn, And yet thy face with gladness glows As though 'twere never born. Enwrapped within thy tender folds God's own thoughts hidden lie; Still in thy form mine eye beholds A sweet humility. Hadst thou been born 'mid desert air. Thy loveliness unknown, The world should still thy sweetness share On wandering zephyr blown. Thy stained petals soon must fade, Thy sweetness die away; But deep in my life thou hast laid An influence that shall stay. [94] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE And I could choose brief days as you, To leave a fragrant breath, Than to my mission prove untrue When years should close in death. Then forward from this happy hour In hope I do confide, That as the pure life of this flower My own may e'er abide. [95] SONG AND DREAM Jes Keep Yer Heart Ready Fer T' Sing WHAT diffunee do it make if yer skin am black? Jes keep yer heart ready fer 't sing; Don't kerry it eronn' like a load on yer back Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. When de agertater says dat you's treated wrong Jes keep yer heart ready fer t ' sing ; When he says you's a whole lot better dan yer song Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. When de polertishun says dat you orter have a job Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing; When he pities yer condishun wid a great big sob Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Whut good it gwine ter do fer to hab de blues Case yer kaint be a gub'ner or a king? Jes go erlong and smile ease your chillun got shoes [96] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Jes go erlong and ride in de Jim Crow khar An don' ax a nigger fer a thing; Jes look at de sweet-taters growin ' over dar, — Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Ef yer sees a nigger swingin' from a big oak lim Jes wait twel de judgment bells ring; Don' lose yer own 'ligion like de folks who mur- dered him, Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Ef de Angus' sun am hot and de row am long Jes think uv dat cool, sweet spring; Jes cheer de swetin' mule wid a whis'lin' song, — Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Dere's niggers in de East an niggers in de Wes' An niggers to de Norf dey bring; But de nigger in de Souf is de nigger dat's bes', — Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Nigger I don' keer if yer lip grows thick An yer hair twis' eroun' like er spring; De white man '11 help yer when yer bones git sick, Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. Let er white soul shine thu de coal black skin, Buir er home whar de honeysuckles cling; When a po ' nigger falls jes pick 'im up agin, — Jes keep yer heart ready fer t ' sing. [97] SONG AND DREAM Dere 's a great day er comin ' f er de white and de black When de chariot low shall swing; Dere's a bright light a-shinin' thu de heb'nly crack Jes keep yer heart ready fer t' sing. [9«] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE The Ancient Road FAR back adown the hazy years Grandfather 's face I see ; His stalwart form and kindly face Still lend a strength to me. Ah well do I remember how He toiled and planned and dreamed And lived for those he reared and loved, — How beautiful it seemed. And then when beautiful old age Wove a halo round his head, How sad my heart when first I heard The grand old man was dead. And then through long years by my side My dear old father walked; I still can hear the father voice As at eventide we talked. [99] SONG AND DREAM Through summer days when toil was hard, Through winter rains and snow He thought of me, he lived for me That I might worthy grow. Then unto him called Master Time From down the long, dim way; My heart again was taught to bleed When father went away And now I tread the age-worn path A dear son at my side; I toil and love, for soon 'twill be The stars and eventide. Ah, whither starts this ancient road With ancient signals marked? How many erstwhile eager feet Along its ways embarked ! And ever thus the road leads on 'er mountain top and vale And no man knows the end thereof Where it meets the ocean sail. [100] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE God what means this glad sunshine And then the sad, still moon ! What means this breath of buoyant mom And then the dark so soon ! grant us faith to calm the soul Along a way unknown, A manly faith to leave the world, — A mem'ry for our own. [lOl] SONG AND DREAM Reproof THE world hath simmered down ; all fact 'ry wheels Have hushed their heavy hum, and twilight comes To bring me peaceful rest. Across the hills How sweet to stroll, to feel and deeply breathe The freshness of the dying day, and watch With swelling soul the grandly marshalled line Of colors bright that blend and paint the sky — To see the cloud-built isles that gorgeous stand Amidst the boundless lake of mystic gold ! Now slowly fades the sheen of light that spread Such splendor 'round this dazzling land of dreams, And all is gone ! Back to the quiet quarters of my room I stroll with random step and dreamy thoughts. As I revert and call fond mem'ry forth From hazy haunts where once she had her being ; When breathing low I hear her rustling wings [102] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE And in a glance survey the winding road 'er which my life hath slowly crept its way, Unbidden steals a prayer from out my heart, — A gratitude that through the shadowed ways My life hath moved untouched by sudden harm, And coming forth to sunlit places clear Can see some distance gained. But far ahead More brightly gleams the sun ; a richer air Surrounds the place; mayhaps thou'st traveled well, Life, but coulds't have gained that higher ground ,- But on thy way so oft hast thou forgot And dallied long with trifles at thy side. Full often hast thou erred, stupid Life ! Yet not so much in being what thou wast. But failing in the choice of higher things That lay within thy grasp. For this repent ; And so in days to come, when outward powers Would lead thee blindly forth to walk astray. Then stop, give ear to that the frailer man That shouts from far within thy calmer self. Where seated high o'er all, with vision clear. It views the world of action, sees the best. And cries * 'Accept!" so live by duty blest. [103] SONG AND DREAM In the New-Ground ri^ODAY I'm dreaming of the woodlands I Lying still in restful ease, Where the gentle warmth of sunshine Floats upon the sleepy breeze. There the toiler greets the morning 'Neath the trees that span the hill, E'er the sunshine paints the heavens, And the stars are dreaming still. Here and there the trees are falling And a richness fills the air, And the smoke is lightly curling From the brushwood's lively glare. But the toiler feels a sadness As he clears the trees away, For evermore there'll be a strangeness. And things forget their younger day. 'Neath the cedar in the hedgerow Rests the bucket in the shade. With its cooling waters waiting For the thirst that toil hath made. [104] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE By its side the rugged worker Lays his long-worn, homely coat, And with stout heart braves the long day With a song of homely note. From yon treetop in the distance Bare and splintered 'gainst the sky. Sweeps a robin with a shrill note Wild and parting, ere it fly. Toward the new-ground swiftly steering, Soon it launches, light and free, Then with lonesome look and pensive Stately stands with dignity. Dear old robin, neat and trim, Playmate of the country child. Stepping all the livelong day O'er the hillsides fresh and wild, Well the toiler loves your presence, Loves your stately, cheerful look. As you lift an honest head up From some quiet, sunny nook. All the sunny hours you linger 'Round the mellow, new-burnt fields, In your soft and pleasing plumage Harbinger of blooming wealds. [105] SONG AND DREAM And we grieve the time that cometh When no more your cheery chimes Can be heard about the new-ground — When you steer for other climes. When the shim 'ring twilight cometh Like the last faint, fading note Of some anthem stealing sweetly O'er a noiseless breeze afloat. Far to the rooky hillside rest The robin wings his dusky flight ; AVith coat on arm the tired toiler Whispers to his fields ''Goodnight.'' [io6] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE The Day That Is DEAR Life, 'tis well for thee, when strolling back Through vernal woods, where once with leisure sweet Thou lingered 'st long, to see engrafted there And deep ingrown, some things that make thee yearn To call those dreaming years to life again. But better far if with unclouded eye Thou peerest through the years that are to be, And far beyond the things that near thee lie Some flick 'ring light, some guerdon thou ean'st see, — Some object glim 'ring in the dim unknown That beckons thee to hurry that which now Thy hands attend, and hasten hitherward. But better still if thou ean'st feel the force Of years that wide awake about thee stir; If in the hour that is, thine eye beholds The purpose of the past, the future end. mix thyself with that thine eye doth see, [107] SONG AND DREAM Thine ear doth hear, thy hand can touch and feel! For then thou need'st not dream of what has been Nor care for what the future may conceal. [io8] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE To Our Sweetgum Tree FULL many times when summer days were bright And o'er the fields stood trembling, summer air, We found our hats and wandered forth to where The sweetgum tree stands bare to summer light; And when at once its cool shades came in sight. With ever-quickening steps we hastened there, And with unsparing hand its bark laid bare. With searching eyes oft have I claimed the right Of this side or of that. Though years have gone And things have changed, I see you, noble tree, And oft a sigh of sad regret have drawn That I have gashed your form so recklessly; And now you stand, in stretching field, forlorn, In ragged age, our dear old Sweetgum Tree ! [109] SONG AND DREAM Reflection SAVE us, Years, from shortsighted action, From trampling true beauty and life's sweetest part 'Neath trade's busy sweep liand commercial distraction, — From feeling the purse and forgetting the heart. Forbid that while years ever recklessly spin The nation should seek purest glory to win "While selfish self-seekers debauch her in sin Then howl o'er her wretched condition. [no] BONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE My Birthright OGIVE me the music and song of the world, The glorious sky-pictures at sunset unfurled ; Give me the breath of the fresh April morn Sweetened with dew from the deep shadows born. Set price on the showers that hasten the grain But leave me the rainbow and sweet scent of rain; Harvest the grain which the warm rains have made But give me the whiff of its sun-sweetened blade ; Garner the rich wheat and hoard it away When I've seen it wave on a bright summer day; Ravage the red rose and sell it for gain When I've seen the sunset that glows in its vein; Pluck the red apple and carefully store it But give me the breath of the blossom that bore it ; [III] SONG AND DREAM Take your broad acres and barns wMcli they fill While I watch the rise of the vale to the hill ; I've no heart to reckon your shillings and pence With the breath of the honeysuckle over the fence ; Fell the proud oak and the pine on the hill When I have passed under their boughs and stood still; Pull down the lightnings and harness their might When I've seen them play through the storm of the night; Bridle the rivers and cause them to hush When I've heard the song of their oceanward rush; Take thou the home, with its draperies gay, But give me the sound of the children at play ; Take all the finery, jewels so rare, But give me the smile of the babe over there ; Claim all the holdings and it will suffice If you leave me the words of a father's advice ; Seize all the wealth for which forefathers strove But leave me the pride of a strong brother's love; [112] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Filch what you may if you but leave to me A sweet sister's words and her fine sympathy, The glorious wealth of a blue summer sky That floats in the smile of a sweetheart's eye; Take the soft furnishings, carpeted stairs. But give me the worth of a dear mother's prayers ; Take it all, use it, and then pass it on But leave me the mem'ry of friends who are gone ; Thine be the world with its rich jeweled sod. But grant me the great saving spirit of God. [113] SONG AND DREAM To the Years (On my birthday) O YEARS, years, why slip you thus away And let me move unconscious of your flight ! Why make my days so swiftly chase the night ! Why bring before me ever on this day The stern command to stop, review, survey! Ye calleth back the gloam of early light, Some joyous sport, some half -remembered sight — The itemized account of each sweet day. Speed on, speed on, I make no anxious score But count alone the heart-throbs I have braced, The souls forlorn that drooped, earthworn and sore, But v/ith resolve have lifted up and faced Grim life again. If such there be, no more I grieve ; nor should I have the years erased. [114] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE A Moment of Rest STILL and low the wings of evening spread And fan the air into a feathery breeze, While o'er my spirit steals, with airy tread, A feeling strange as if by lonely seas. Trembling deep in yonder blue immense A pensive star in modesty retires ; The day is done, the sun is now far hence. The heavens glow with feeble sunlit fires. Upon the breeze there comes a soft refrain That leads my thoughts to wander and to roam ; The words are those of that familiar strain, That strain so dear, ' ' No place like home, sweet home. ' ' Emotions rise upon those plaintive airs And buoyant hope comes bounding, breathing full; Old memories come trooping o'er the years And scenes that once I held so beautiful. [115] SONG AND DREAM With book half closed, and head against the chair, I rock, and wrap my thoughts in floating dream. My weary mind shifts every clinging care, And drifts away to some more restful theme. Far onward through the mellow twilight still, By rustling leaves in dreamy, restless sleep, I pass in rapid pace some haunted mill; It seems to call, and then in silence, weep. Through cool and shadowy woodlands swift I stray. The sleepy streamlets breathing dull and low ; Watchful sprites and neiads guide their winding way And seem to trace my footsteps as I go. All things are hushed. A melancholy trill Through dusky distance softly, faintly falls; Poor friendless bird! complaining whip-poor- will, Ever alone, and none to hear its calls. At last, how glad! my feet are quickly turning Towards a hill I long had pined to see ; And through the dark a lamp is brightly burning And there it seems to burn and wait for me. [ii6] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE As I approach mid flowers and dewy grass And onward rnsh through yard and open door, Wliat grief to find, — ah me, alas ! alas ! My book had slipped and fallen to the floor. [117] SONG AND DREAM In Memory of Everybody's Friend "Marse Jim** (James Haywood Southgate) BACK to his mother earth who gave, Hath turned a giant son ! But e'er she wrapped him in her grave She found his task well-done. With towering brow and pond Vous brain He brought back days of old, When shepherd hill and starlit plain Built manhood strong and bold. Gone from our streets and from our halls The counsel of a friend, Who gave us hope and lofty calls And stood us to the end. His heart was like the big outdoors, His eye the glad sunshine; His voice seemed as the sea that roars A mystic peace, divine. [ii8] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE He dwelt upon the sunlit hills Where God 's great winds go by ; He loved the rhythm of the rills, He loved the wondrous sky. The sweetness of the upturned soil, The fragrance of the hay. And rugged, honest sons of toil Made glad each closing day. The robin and the red-bird found A haven on his hill; He watched the field mouse in the ground And loved the daffodil. He loved the clouds that passed along, The lightning's flash and flight; He loved the gentle cricket's song When quiet filled the night. There was a generous fireside glow Within his cabin home, Where young and old might come and go, Where memory might roam. None can forget the genial smile. The bounding, inward joy He gave in that old-fashioned style ''How goes the world, old boy?" [119] SONG AND DREAM He seemed a part of all we owned, The home, the church, the school ; Sweet charity his life enthroned, He lived the golden rule. On rostrum or at banquet mirth. At desk or mid the crowds, He lived with feet upon the earth And head above the clouds. Where'er he touched his mother earth She gleamed with beauty rare; He gave a rich and hallowed worth To land and sea and air. His was the universal life That knows nor time nor place. That struggles with a kingly strife To leave a manlier race. 1120] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Lowering of the Class Flag (Tune: America) (This song has been used for several years by Trinity College at the lowering of the class flag, which is the last official act of the college year, coming at sunset on Wednesday of Commencement. The cornet sounds the call for the assembling of the Class five minutes before sunset. After assembling, the Class sings college songs. As the sun sets the college bell is rung, and every Trinity man is expected to remove his hat whether he is present at the exercises or not. The flag is lowered by the Class and turned over to the President of the College to be deposited among the archives of the College, and for future use by the Class.) HARK! the last clarion call Brings sadness to us all, Trinity ! Last vow of love we bring, Last song of thee we sing! Our hearts to thee shall cling Eternally. [121] SONG AND DREAM Comrades, our day is done And with yon setting sun We say farewell, — Farewell to these dear halls Sweet lawns and stately walls, Farewell to twilight calls And lusty yell. Face to the western skies. Warm tears shall bathe our eyes For Trinity. Sweet memories entwine Around this sacred shrine And bind our lives to thine, Dear Trinity. Voice of thy mighty bell Sounds now its saddest knell. Stern Trinity. Let every son she bred Whose hungry soul she fed Now bare his reverent head And honor thee. [122] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFJE Flag of our country free, Flag of our Trinity, God bless thy stars! Tattered thou mayest be, Still do we honor thee Proud sign of liberty, — Thy stripes and bars! Long live our Mother brave. Long may Old Glory wave O'er Trinity! Truth, honor, faith and love Ne'er from thy sons shall move, — Steadfast as heaven above To Trinity. [123] SONG AND DREAM My Charge GO SERVE the right in Heaven's name Expedience count but a foil ; To see the highest be thy aim, To hold the vision be thy toil. Go seek the truth whate'er it brings, Look not for ease, shun not the strife; Let not the instant need of things Eclipse the abiding worth of life. [134] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep THE mightiest power of human word, The gentlest music ever heard, Are found beside the trundle bed Where little children's prayers are said. Where little eyes at mother peep With ''Now I lay me down to sleep." This golden prayer of childhood's years Bids mother put away her fears And look with trust to that stern hour When baby comes to manhood's power. She builds a tower his faith to keep With "Now I lay me down to sleep." When after years shall dim his eyes And mother dwells in God's great skies; When life with joy and pain is fraught He hears the words that mother taught, And back for strength his soul shall leap To ''Now I lay me down to sleep." [125] SONG AND DREAM God grant, through tumult of the years To save this prayer and mother's tears; May little children everywhere At mother's knees learn mother's prayer, And every heart Thy ways shall keep Through ''Now I lay me down to sleep." [126] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Poppies WEALTH of a thousand cities Dream of elysian fields Land of rainbow yearning With fairy-petaled yields Birds from the fairest countries Gathered in a night Mixed in rare profusion Of plumage rich and bright Robes from a Persian palace Wings of the butterfly Glow of the borealis Tints of a sunset sky Nooks for the nymphs and fairies Soul of a song and dream Breath of an evening zephyr Glow of a glad sunbeam Eyes of the morning dewdrop Children of the stars Dreams of an azure heaven Blood from the veins of Mars [127] SONG AND DREAM Smiles of a baby's dreaming Draperies of the bee Love in an eastern garden Sleep of a peaceful sea Wild carnival of color To dazzle with delight To fill the heart with dreaming Of a jeweled heaven's light. [128 SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Sabbath Bells O TENDER bells ! pleading bells ! From some enchanted clime, You seem as angels of the earth Breathing a whispered chime. You open the gates of a holy place Where new-born vows are said, You ring when the broken-hearted mourn For a life that the world calls dead. golden bells ! merciful bells ! With a heart for sinner and saint, Sweet charity dwells in your brotherly tone With never a word of complaint. Far out from the dark of the pagan land Too far for the wheels of trade There rises upon this Sabbath day A song that your voice hath made. glorious bells of the Sabbath day. Echoes of the Master's call From the domes of the heavenly table-lands Whence the dews of His mercy fall! [129] SONG AND DREAM The symbol of those voices high That wake to a higher toil, Those glorified oases here Which we cherish as sacred soil! bells of hope ! bells of love ! Not duty's stem commands, Exultant bells, death-conquering bells That waft from eternal lands! vain earth's selfish wealth and toil, The frantic grasp for things. When rising from the wild uproar This voice of the eternal sings ! Turn thou, mad and weary world To the rest of the Sabbath day, To her sacred bells, to her saving bells That echo along her way ! mystic bells ! yearning bells ! Such ne'er to the earth were given, The endless rhythm of thy tones Was caught from the bells of heaven ! [130] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Scribbling I SCRIBBLE on my shirt and cuff Or ragged envelope, Upon the fly-leaf of a book Or on the kitchen soap. For fear the winged word may fly Or happj^ rhyme I lose I grave it on a dollar bill Or on my hat or shoes. And oft in zeal I scribble on Unmindful of the hour, Until today is yesterday And the muse hath spent her power; Then rush my pencil on to bed As vigil through the night. Lest e'er the dawn some thought hath fled And will not come to light. I keep the trap set night and day For thought and word and rhyme, And when perchance I stay away For any length of time, [131] SONG AND DREAM What idle joy to hurry back And in my easy chair To listen for the elfin track That may be stealing there. I scribble on the mantel-piece And on the stable door, In haste I seize my handkerchief Or write upon the floor. I fear lest I go writing mad And follow light or wind, Or catch myself a-scribbling On the cheek of some good friend. [132] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Thanksgiving WE THANK Thee, Lord, for breath of peace. For homes and fires and love ; For honor's gift and mercy's sonl And faith in God above. We thank thee that the heart of man Still feels a gratitude, That song still leaps from out his soul And prayer lives unsubdued. We thank thee for the buoyant hope That fills the future ways. For life that is and memory Of those fair other days. [13,3] SONG AND DREAM To the New Moon HAIL, hail, hail White ship of celestial seas ! Ah, whither come and what strange shores Have felt the quiver of thine oars ? What alien eyes have welcomed thee Along thy wide periphery? Hail, hail, thou glad new moon ! Hail, hail, hail Thou rugged sailor friend ! Faithful were thy pilots twain Guiding thee o'er sea and main; Welcome to our vesper skies As our friendly daylight dies ; Every heart leaps up anew, Glad to greet the face of you. Hail, hail, thou glad new moon! [134] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE The Larger Light TO THEE, Sleepless Watcher of the years We lift our praise! Yet not for harvest fields, For wealth of stores and all that traffic yields; But for the larger life they build, that rears Our thoughts to Thine. That love that ever shields The lily and the bird should shame our fears ; For if we heir life's gladness or its tears Beneath it all Thou art, and nothing wields Thine arm but love. Oft in Thy larger light Man's worshipped treasures are to Thee but dross, His fancied wrong is but eternal right, His petty gain is but eternal loss; And though his spirit spend a bitter night The day-dawn finds an angel near his cross. [135] SONG AND DREAM The Campfires of the Angels IN THE dim, on-beck'ning distance, In the weird, strange wonderland, There a mystic glow enchanting Hovers o'er a silent band; Silent through unnumbered ages, — Not a whisper hath been hurled From the campfires of the angels On the outskirts of the world. In the long eternal gloaming Faithful vigil have you kept While vast hordes of earthworn trav'lers Passed along and laughed or wept. Looking up in wild-eyed wonder Where the glowing smoke-clouds curled From the campfires of the angels On the outskirts of the world. In the glamour of your far lights Hold the angels sweet concourse? Do they speak in heaven's language Of our life, its end and source? [136] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Do they chant of sacred mem'ries From an earthly scroll unfurled, Round the campfires of the angels On the outskirts of the world ? Glimmer on ye beck'ning shore lights Where the distant camp-ground lies, Where we see the bright sparks trailing Up the highways of the skies. Soon must fade earth's little daylight. And our chariots shall be hurled Toward the campfires of the angels On the outskirts of the world. [137] SONG AND DREAM To a Fallen Leaf HOW much of spring, how much of song Lie in your withered face, How many glad hearts passed along Your cool and shadowed ways! In your mute presence as I stand I feel a nameless dread; The breezes speak which you have fanned, Spring rises from the dead. You seem to speak of friends and home And how you used to live, Where birds and butterflies did roam And bees their honey give. O what a fairy world was yours 'Mid rain and jeweled dew. When night-time sent her troubadours To chant their songs to you ! 0, emblem of our mortal life. At the foot of your mother you lie, Unheedful of the wild wind 's strife, — For the life of another you die. [138] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIF]g 'Twas the unseen root that kept you green, You helped make the tree and were glad ; You are building another glad springtime sheen So why should I be sad ? [139] SONG AND DREAM Armenia ARMENIA! Armenia! A golden name is thine ; There's something in thine ancient soul That seems almost divine. What sacred heroes shine so fair Upon thine eastern hills, What destinies were cradled there Along thy quiet rills! What ancient names and hallowed creed Live through thy wearied toil! Thy storied hilltops nursed the seed, — The Christ-faith blessed thy soil. And yet thine old men grope thy ways Thy children cry for home, And through thy bitter, blood-stained days Thy helpless mothers roam. The cry of old Armenia sounds Throughout the ceaseless years; An ancient terror fills her bounds, Her heart with bitter tears. [140] SONGS AND DREAMS OF LIFE Her generations love their fields Their homes and honest work, But o'er her life there ever steals The shadow of the Turk. With sad and contemplative eyes And grief-swept soul and heart, What shuddering memories arise To tell thy bitter part ! tortured little Aryan band Who love their templed hills, What desolation marks thy land And all thy pages fills ! The rivers of thy guiltless blood Murmur a ghastly tale, And far across the crimson flood We hear thy suppliant wail. heart of our big-hearted world Speak from thy vaunted place And let this flag of death be furled From 'er this haunted race. [MI] SONG AND DREAM Vesperi Lux WHEN the sun hath fled and the day is dead Give me the twilight stars, When life sinks low and I must go Along the lonely bars. Should the night be dark from my lonely bark As I travel the silent ways, Close by my side in that eventide May there shine the Master's face. [142] SONGS OF WAR America METHINKS I see, far toward hesperian glow, A goddess queenly fair, with searching eyes Benignant as the light of summer skies; About her brow a gracious care doth grow. Her calm and lustrous countenance doth show A promise vast and grand ; 'mid darkened skies Eadiant she stands ; within her grasp there lies A strength that none but flaming patriots know. Face toward the east, she lifts a peaceful hand ; She speaks, the voice of justice and of right! They hear her, men of every race and land, — Glad herald of the dawn of larger light. Fair Liberty, with grave and high command To free a fettered world from death of might. [145] SONG AND DREAM A Nation's Prayer O MIGHTY FATHER, changeless God, Whose love through all the years Hath blessed the paths which we have trod And calmed our faithless fears! Hear Thou a nation's fervent prayer On this her day of praise, Lift up the earth from grim despair And straighten all her ways. Take Thou this nation, young and strong, Build here a throne of right That shall forever spurn the wrong And scorn the boast of might. Build here for strength of coming days A land where greed shall cease, Whose ways shall all be righteous ways, Whose paths shall all be peace. [146] SONGS OF WAR At the Fireside of the Nation SEE them gather at the fireside! From toil's weary ways they roam Back where cheerful embers call them, Back where twilight turns them home. High have been the day's endeavors, Love hath led them on the way And a gladness fills the evening With the memories of the day. Cheer and hunger gather with them Where the evening meal is spread; Ease and leisure fill the hour With honest thanks for honest bread. Every heart is filled with kindness, Every face with sweet content, And the end of day is hallowed With a wholesome merriment. Father tells of honest trading, Of a good deal on the square ; Mother plies her thread and needle Near the table over there. [147] SONG AND DREAM Brother boasts of faithful horses, Sister of school honors won ; Little toddlers by the hearthstone Find their frolic and their fun. Now the little eyes grow heavy And the Holy Book is read, With her tender good-night kisses Mother tucks them in their bed. Then the quiet of the papers Of the magazines and books, And the news of many cities. Of the neighbors and the cooks. Mem'ry turns the pages backward To the stately days of old Where the uncles and the grandsires Braved the earth, gallant and bold. How the darkies of the old days Loved their master and his jest ! How his heart bled when he laid them Neath the quiet graveyard's rest! Then the tale of bloody trenches. Of the grim and deadly fight Where the wild and fiery missiles Give a terror to the night! [148] SONGS OF WAR Where the coming of the morning Brings but dark and dismal dread As the cold hand of the day-dawn Strokes the pale lips of the dead! ye god of shell and thunder Whose mad ear doth hear no cry, Call not these to terrors yonder Where young eyes look up and die ! Shatter not this peaceful evening, Ravage not this shrine of home Where a gleam of earthly heaven Steals from out the starlit dome! But if noise of war-like footman Sound along our homeland shores; Should the honor of her fireside Call us where the cannon roars; Up shall spring a mighty legion And the stars and stripes shall fly O'er the fireside of the nation Where her strength and honor lie. [149] SONG AND DREAM To the Yanks in France WE ENVY you boys, on the firing line, We covet your glorious chance To bear Freedom's sign far over the brine To the bleeding fields of France. sordid the task in the shop and the store When demons are murd'ring the world! May God guide our khaki through grapeshot and gore Till the banners of might shall be furled. [ISO] SONGS OF WAR Soldier Greeting AS THE wrinkled year brings Christmas near And the sound of silver bells, We greet you lad in your khaki clad With old-time campus yells. May mem 'ries bright on Christmas night Make glad your soldier heart, And in your fight for freedom's right God grant the victor's part. [151: SONG AND DREAM To Our Boys Around the Campfires THE homeland fires are burning boys, Burning for you ; And homeland hearts are yearning, boys, Yearning for you. I see a noble pride arise. Beaming in Columbia's eyes While her old flag proudly flies. Flying for you. The eyes of the world are learning, boys, Learning of you; The heart of the world is turning, boys, Turning to you. You are pulling the rope to Freedom's bell For the sake of the things you love so well; At home we are lifting a cheer and yell, Yelling for you. [152] SONGS OF WAR To the Khaki-Clad HERE 'S to the lad of the trench and camp With his gun and a heart of steel ! We sing of the pomp of your martial tramp And the pride which your countrymen feel. Around the world old Liberty Bell And the glow of freedom's light Shall fire every heart with the message they tell Of your struggle for peace and right. So here's to your courage and manly cheer; You are gloriously brave, my lad! And here's to the stars and the stripes you bear, To Columbia's khaki-clad! We send you loud cheers and a lusty yell From the hills and the shores of home. With pride in your courage and faith in your shell Wherever your feet may roam. [153] SONG AND DREAM Voices of the Christmas-Time BELLS of Christmas everywhere, Old Santa Glaus a 'smiling, Mistletoe swung in the air Blushing maids beguiling. Face of every little child Beaming with delight, Dreams and fancies running wild Through the hours of night. Happy heart of Santa Glaus Gladdening all the earth, His nimble-footed reindeer draws Loads of Ghristmas mirth. Ten million little children know His graybeard and his smile, And on to early bed they go To dream of him awhile. Ruddy fires of dim twilight, Woods all white with snow, Sleighbells sounding through the night, O'er the hills they go. [154] SONGS OF WAR Trains go rushing on their way With gifts of goodly cheer And happy crowds go home to stay For Christmas and New Year. Shops and stores so full and bright, Shoppers full of glee, Streets ablaze with Christmas light, Hearts so glad and free. Mirthful sound of quilting-bees Along the countryside, Dazzling light of Christmas trees Floods the eventide. Through all the mingled voices glad That fill the festive earth Can there be voices low and sad? Could there be aught but mirth? Ah! through the distance comes a cry, - A mother with her child ; It comes from where brave fathers die In conflict mad and wild. peaceful plains of Palestine! hills of old Judea ! Ten thousand tender dreams are thine When Christmas-time is here ! [155] SONG AND DREAM Yon star that blazed o'er Bethlehem And stirred the shepherds' fear, With battle smoke is red and dim And Christmas-time so near ! Death flutters through thy peaceful air, It lurks upon thy sea And hides beneath thy waters fair, — The sea of Galilee. No more the sound of "Peace on earth," No more ''Good-will to men;" The mem'ry of thy manger birth Is hushed in hellish sin. Santa Clause before you bring Our sweets and gilded toys Go back where helpless mothers cling To homeless girls and boys. Go build the fires of home again, Let sound of shrapnel cease, And guide the steps of tortured men To homes of love and peace! [1 56] SONGS OF WAI^ To the Sons of France HAIL, chivalrous brothers across the sea Who guardeth the paths of the world's liberty ! Peasant and prince heard the call of old France And roused from the lull of a long, haunted trance. Brave as the lion when caught in his den Rose you like patriots, fought you like men! Firm stood your bayonet, bright gleamed your lance, All the world honors the sons of old France. [157] SONG AND DREAM Our Times Are In Thy Hands GREAT GOD, the nations of the earth Are met in hellish clash, And only Thou in heaven dost know Where next their furies flash! The brave young blood of modern pride Lies filt'ring through the sands. But sweet to feel through storm of steel ''Our times are in Thy hands.'' High in Thy heaven flies winged death With deadly thunder clad, And herds of shuddering men look up With desperate eyes and sad; The thunder roars, the smoke-clouds rise, But out from trench-gashed lands A dream-built might shall yield to right - ''Our times are in Thy hands." Civilization stands aghast, Awe-stricken, breathless, dumb. To see her proud steel-pillared world To desolation come. [158] SONGS OF WAR The ground which ancient armies trod Again in terror stands Heart-sick at spoil of ancient toil — ''Our times are in Thy hands." What dread catastrophe is this, What cataclysm wild? Doth Sodom's hardness hold the world From God's great love exiled? Doth God call nations to their knees ? No seer understands, But in this night we grope for light — "Our times are in Thy hands." The nation that forgetteth God Shall perish from the earth; So warns the ancient Book that points A nation's fall or birth. Adown the highways of the past Have sounded God's commands, But greed and ease man 's senses seize — ''Our times are in Thy hands." We know above the dismal din Of cannon, shell and blood, A Master General views the fields Where ancient armies stood. [159] SONG AND DREAM He knows man's strength, He knows the end, He knows man's battle plans. In patience waits to judge his hates — "Our times are in Thy hands." Forgive where nations in their pride Unsheathed a guilty sword! Forgive where men in fateful haste Forgot their nation's Lord! And if this be Thy chastening rod To wayward, sin-cursed lands Where nations trod lost from their God — "Our times are in Thy hands." i6o] SONGS OF WAR To the Men of the Golden Star I'M GLAD that you had the chance, my lads, ; I'm glad that you had the chance. To die for the world Where Old Glory unfurled O'er the fearless fields of France. My heart leaps high when I think of you, lads, As you dared the dark demons of sea To join the brave line Where the immortals shine As the seal of the world's liberty. I'm glad that you fought with the soul of a man And died as a man should die, Where the hell guns jarred And the fight was hard, — That you rest where brave men lie. A thousand years might never bring A tale of fairer fame; Though you died in a day You shall live alway With glory on your name. [i6i] SONG AND DREAM Though hushed be the guns, and speechless the men Who fell 'neath the long, long trance, I can see them arise With a flame in their eyes At the sound of thy name, France ! Ah, sad, very sad, in these glad days of peace Not to shake your brave hand once more! That you could not come back With your gun and your pack For a glimpse of the homeland shore ! Proud stands your old Mother College today, Though sorrow hath touched her soul, That these nevermore Shall enter her door Nor along her old pathways shall stroll. She remembers your room, and the tree where you sang. The books which you read with delight, The sound of your yell When the heart felt the spell And the charm of a wonderful night. [162] SONGS OF WAR But she's proud that you had the chance, my lads, She's proud that you had the chance, To brave the onslaught For the things that she taught And to die for the world, and for France ! 163] SONG AND DREAM Shadow and Song FOR four long years black night had spread Her wings about the world, And men went weeping for their dead, The flag of hope half-furled. But deep within the soul of man There dw^elt a faith in right, And that it was God's final plan To give us back the light. Old England groans and Belgium stands Ravished on every plain; Italia guards her sun-kissed lands. Prance bleeds from every vein. America, bewildered, felt The call to right the wrong; She yearned as on her knees she knelt To save the weak and strong. At last there leapt across the skies From out night's darkened way. The smile of hope in morning's eyes. The long on-coming day. [164] SONGS OF WAR And heaven's cheek grew clear and bright, Awhile so wan and sad; The eyes of freedom flashed with light, The heart of the world was glad. God save from such another night And make us all akin, And grant that love's far-reaching light May light the hearts of men. Forever may her pinions white Rest o'er a peaceful world. Where mercy's touch shall banish might And the flags of war be furled ! ['651 SONG AND DREAM How Hath the Mighty Fallen THOUGH slow to hear the universal call That knit in one the high instinct of all; Though slow from out thy slumb'rous ease to wake When liberty and justice were at stake; Yet thou did'st hear, and thou did'st answer well The call to end the earth 's black night of hell ; And having heard, and with high purpose set, How dare my glorious Country e'er forget The splendid vision and the sacred vow, Or e'er to sordid machinations bow! For thou did'st walk amid the sunlit hills And nations watched thee with a faith that stills The clamour of a frenzied world. But thou Did'st turn, and on thy clear, majestic brow A shadow fell, and back into the vales Went hope, where honor sits and wails. But there she cannot stay, for mountain heights Will ever beckon through the murky nights, [i66] SONGS OF WAR And some day hence, her pinions white shall rise And gain again her vision of the skies. America, with heart so big and brave When action was so perilous and grave, Where is thy dream, whence hath thy vision fled Now that thy drums are still, thy heroes dead? Where is the flame, uplifted from thy hand. That resurrected hope in every land? Have honor, justice, liberty and right Passed from thy radiant soul before the night Could fold her wings and greet the glorious day? Have thy feet faltered on the earth's highway And thy once dauntless spirit, noble, free, Cringed 'neath the curse of base expediency? Shall Arthur's knights on far old Britain's shore Leave thee no heritage, or evermore Call out across the seas for knightly men With purpose high and kingly soul akin To keep the peace, to help and shield the weak? The very shades of Master Falstaff speak To see his mighty kin on instinct run Because somewhere in Europe hides a gun ! Shall fathers brave who rose as pioneers And flung their bone and blood on far frontiers [167] SONG AND DREAM So soon forget the white-souled sons who died, The tender tears where mothers knelt and cried? Did thy brave sons 'neath poppy fields of France Send thee no word, or fire thy sonl perchance, As home-bound ships drew nigh to homeland piers And turned the heroes home 'mid rapturous cheers ? Shall all the things which memory gave for peace Sink once again beneath a selfish ease. And hearts that met the challenge of the strong No longer feel the burden of the wrong? Hast thou no charge to keep the peace of men Which thou hast shed thy bravest blood to win ? Are we but moulders of the present day Soulless to those who tread the future way? Are those high things for which our spirits bled Vanished so soon, and buried with our dead? Where are thy dreams? was it a foolish heart That led thee up so high for such a part As thou did'st play? Awake, my Land, awake! Stretch forth thy mighty arm! forever shake [168] SONGS OF WAR This death-like pallor from thy stone-like face And once again from thy exalted place With vision lifted toward a glad, new day, Redeem the soul which thou hast flung away And rend in twain the cloud that veils the skies And burst the tomb where thy fair vision lies ! 169] SONG AND DREAM The Aftermath THREE millions and more of the children of God, Ye angels of heaven behold ! What hand would not sweeten the pathways they plod If the wheels of the world grow cold ! Breathes there a heart in this heaven-blest land With harvests that burden the field, That would not caress with a fatherly hand And from every hardship shield ! Along the dear pathways of age-worn Judea From the dim, shadowy days of the yore, A masterful voice, so calm and so clear. Seems to follow us evermore : ''Suffer the children to come unto me," — Thank God for a friend in the heaven, When hunger and cold and bleak misery Are all that the world hath given! [170] SONGS OP WAR These children who lean on the merciful heart Of a war-torn world not theirs, Whose portion of fate is a bitter part, — Ah, the Master shall answer their prayers ! O heart of America, big and brave. When the charge was to shoot and kill. Their fathers are sleeping where you dug the grave And the children are crying still! There are Marys and Bills like to yours and to mine And their hearts are the light of the world, And we know, good Shepherd, that these are Thine Who were lost where the flags were furled. Ah, e'er we shall offer a thanksgiving prayer Or fondle our Christmas toys. Pray hurry our bread and not guns "over there" To earth's refugee girls and boys! [171] J^ONG AND DREAM Disarmament C^OME, Gentlemen, earth's day is growing J late And all the way, as strangers at the gate, We've traveled on from war's first battle shield Unto the shame of yonder Plander's Field. Enough! 'tis time we knew each other now, And knowing, love ; in one world-binding vow Let man in sorrow for his ancient sin Say to the world that we be brethren ; And then in truth forswear the thought of harm And swearing thus, with willing heart disarm ; For soon or late the wrath of God shall rise On him who clothes high honor in disguise. If you, with light of ages in your eyes, And hearts now bound through sorrow's bitter cries, Cannot lay down your arms, strike hands and say ''Henceforth we walk as brothers on the way," Then look not to your weaker kind to rise And shut suspicion from their blinded eyes. [172] SONGS OF WAR Just yesterday, with tender, prideful hand High spirits laid away in every land The deathless symbol of their unknown lad, — The world turned toward its mem'ries and was sad. Ah, will you, gallant sirs, now smite the cheek Of heroes, garlanded, who can not speak? Their fair hands braved death's treach'rous overtures For what you now hold, pricelessly, in yours. They gathered from the ends of earth at sound Of bugle, and in honor high they bound Their lives and all for sake of one another. To die as one who dieth for a brother. Ah, shame we cannot live as such and be As neighbors in the bonds of unity! Not till our selfish competition cease Shall kindred nations find the light of peace. And each beloved land in truth hath shown We love each other as we love our own. Then shall our senseless wars be flung away. The relic of a shameful, savage day. Ah, Gentlemen, the heart of the world beats high For the brother-look within the other's eye; SONG AND DREAM For simple trust; for friendly sacrifice That lives for others, and in living dies : That seeks no law or power through hellish war But gives its hands and power unto the law, Till that glad day when love of law shall move Our selfish hearts unto the law of love. God grant you wisdom for a manly part And give you through it all the brother-heart. [174]