PS d503 till J JSa- : HO P B Class "T^ 35rD^ Cop}Tight]s'°. CCElfRIGHT DEPOSIT. PRELUDE A Book of Verse 1S& PRELUDE A Book of Verse BY MARGUERITE HOPE BENNETT THE NEALE PUBLISHING COMPANY 440 Fourth Avenue, New York 1919 ^ ^ '^^ Copyright, 1919, by The Neale Publishikq Compaky SEP 26191 9 ©CI.A529955 ^0 tbese Bounfl, fatr, passing J)ai8S ot mtnc TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Youth 9 Waiting 9 Enchantment 9 Catherine Danced 10 One Day 11 Autumn 11 Nightfall 11 Longing 12 The Storm 12 Unveiled 13 Reflected 14 Moments 14 OSTEND 16 In May 16 You Came 17 A Dream of Li6ge 18 The Answer 18 Happiness 18 Rheims 19 Westward 19 The Grave of My Heart 20 CONTENTS PAGE As Thet Pass 20 In the Night 21 Death 21 The Sacrifice 22 The Truth 23 Understanding .... 24 YOUTH Like lilac sprays, — Faint, mystic, fragrant, — Mauve tinted as the hours of dawn. WAITING The moon-white petals tinged with the blush of life. Flutter to earth with a sigh, The ceaseless water flows to eternity on the path of a moonbeam. The soft dove mourns in the poplar tree And the willows weep in the shadowed water. And I,— I wait for a golden song ! ENCHANTMENT there I see them now Lights fainting through the trees Like wavering stars at night. What are they, mother dear, 9 PRELUDE And whose are they, for I Want to hold them? Tell me, please! "The lights, my sweet, are wraiths Of the ever star-ward surging, And you will see them always. You of the warm and wondering soul." CATHERINE DANCED A low awakening note of Gluck Through twilight woods And from the draperies mystic gray, — Beauty — In that veiled figure. Essence of the afterglow, — Gold-dipped trees. Dark against a flaming sky, Flashes of belated butterflies, Deep pools. Haunted with crhnson and with gold. 10 PRELUDE ONE DAY The world was a dream of blue and gold, — For gold were the trees Whose branches flaunted their leafiness To the gentian-blooming sky, And the mountains were blue As fairy flax Above the grain-ripe fields. AUTUMN The blue-shadowed mountains. The tender veiled sky, The mellow scented fruit, Rich and ripe in its maturity, And the migrating birds Black against an evening sky. NIGHTFALL And the dark star, Night, Fell from the wide-spread dusk of sky Through the lilac mists of twilight. Dyeing the sunset 's gold To the deep blue Which became her best. 11 PRELUDE LONGING When the world was a summer garden I sighed for thee, Oh time of fruitful maturity! When the golden bees from the milk-white phlox Their limpid sweetness drew, I longed for the vagrant birds. When the fragrance of summer sweetened the drift- ing air The heart of me yearned For October's fulfillment Of April's uncertain intimations And rain-drenched promises. THE STORM I gazed at the autumnal landscape, And in my heart I felt that the golden days were come; When, out of the azure sky, As swift as falls the twilight, The gray mists enveloped the blue mountain range, The fields of golden grain were hid, And the sun shone no more. 12 PRELUDE The wind rode high and swift, The earth was wan with darkness, And the great drops of rain Fell as a shower of diamonds From the crown of the storm queen, Who followed fast in the wake Of her heralds dire. UNVEILED And I saw in my vision Our black death unveiled, And lo ! she was a lady of perfect beauty. Garbed in fine gray. The hue that heralds the dawn ; And it was she that guarded The gates of paradise. And it was through her that Life Everlasting was won. As through the dawn The day is reached. 13 PRELUDE REFLECTED Corjd hue And dusky midnight In perfect harmony : One tiny plant-bug By creative nature perfected. The cloud islands float In the sea-blue sky, Like swans on a reflecting lake MOMENTS The night grows dark, The trees sob wearily In the languid air; The glow of a star Shines, and is gone; The rain falls hard. I gaze into my heart; The desolate confusion Has no gleam of light,- Love is gone ! 14 PRELUDE There is no enduring joy in me, Life as a shattered crystal vase Shows only fitful gleams From broken happiness ! My eyes grow dull to beauty And my starved heart breaks ; Strange thoughts come seeking me, — Ghosts of this very day Stalking toward the tents of night! The cool of the evening; Deepening shadows; A star flaming bright, — I think of God ! Day is near ! And the lilac wide-flung cloud of dawn With a faint edge, arbutus tinged, Veils the form of coming day! A butterfly fluttered past, — The heart in me was changed, — I saw the outlined meadows faint with violets, And bleak woods sheathed in living green : I heard praises in soft rustlings. 18 PRELUDE Over the passive earth. A shadow broods, And on the wings of air Night comes down. Your message came to-night It sifted thru the moonbeams On the starlit way And brought your love to my heart. Fields wide-flung, blank with snow,- Cold-sharpened branches Stabbing a bleak sky to crimson. OSTEND A stretch of sand Impinging on a sapphire sea, — A moving crowd. Topped by vivid flames of tilting sunshades. IN MAY When lilacs were in bloom The perfume faintly Blew thru budding trees, Tinting the warm air 16 PRELUDE With the color of Spring, And making the dreams Of silver May ! YOU CAME Across the twilight fields, In the evening calm, Like the first star, — You! Warm as a glowing heart. Mystic as the asphodel On the plains of Death; Beautiful with the love Emburned by suffering. More on the soul than on the heart. And through the starlit evening. You, with the shadows Of dreams ever present In your deep eyes, Like reflections of willow branches In the clear waters of a shimmering lake. 17 PRELUDE A DREAM OF LIEGE I see the glory that rises From shattered pinnacles, Like the Phoenix Crumbled to dust, Revived by the spark immortal Of the unfailing beauty in life, Rises again fairer and brighter than before. THE ANSWER And one bright star, Gold glimmering Sprang through the mountain dusk, — Into the sky depths beyond. A wish I sent. Back to me the desire flamed, But not one hope of fulfillment. HAPPINESS The world is bright, — the sun glows with your love ! The leaves whisper tenderly. From the heavens I turn my eyes to earth; 18 PRELUDE At my feet a tiny beetle lies dead, — ! will your love, so great and lovely a thing, Die as this small beetle, — Change from thrilling life to death ? RHEIMS And before us as we gazed Gloom-shrouded Rheims appeared; We saw ruins ; The beauty of the undemolished church Was a deep wound in the heart. The phantom of a dream. WESTWARD And you've gone West, my boy, Through the portals of the sunset. At the bidding of the shrapnel, For liberty and peace ! You've gone West, my boy, And in our souls We kneel ! 19 PRELUDE THE GEAVE OP MY HEART A star flamed out Over a cross, White-gleaming Against the stretch Of war-swept waste, — Marking the plot In that vast desert Where my heart lies dead. AS THEY PASS A smile-lit face, A light kiss gaily tossed. And a Poilu has passed! A buoyant phrase And a ringing snatch of a song; A Tommy's near you now ! A countenance Darkened with mysterious memories, The silent Indian stands. A friendly grin From Canada's man. Who swings by strong and free ! 20 PRELUDE And last of all The man of the hour: the one hope,- Strong, grim and purposeful! IN THE NIGHT Forms passing in the night, Brooding stillness; Darkness ! Measured, tramping footfalls On the hardened roads of France: Tramp, tramp with buoyant stride; Tired, weighted steps returning; Passing in the night! DEATH The moon lies low in a dark sky, The air is scented with box-hedge greens and a falling rose. Pierrot comes in grief, with faltering step ; He bears the fragile figure of his beloved, mystic in blue and lilac with the crushed poppy tints in her hair : His loved one is dead. Poor lonely Pierrot! Will springtime ever awake again in his soul? 21 PRELUDE THE SACRIFICE White hands I loved so weU, Pure, fair and wondrous smooth ; Hands, whose tender touch on my dead brow, Would make the blood surge through My veins once more ! These hands are yours, my dearest. It is hard to leave you ! You are my inspiration, the light of this soul, setting out now on a shoreless sea that were despair, but for your blessed hands. Your hands are for such work as saving souls. They are too fair to be soiled by life's endless toils. . . . May they never touch life 's grime ! My country calls. From you, I draw strength for the good that is in me. I go to do my part, dear. Pray for me. Yes, my darling. It is over. My part has helped, and I rejoice. Ah ! but why do you cover those fair hands from the eyes whose light they are? And still you veil them! Let me slip the white gloves off and bring to light that dearest of perfections. You say that through them you have done your part — What ? — Munitions ! — Oh! white, white soul! Oh! greatest of sacrifices! 22 PRELUDE "Weary hands I worship to the end, — Pure, blessed and gloriously worn ! Hands, whose deep sacrifice burned on my soul, Lead me on through the Gates of Gold ! THE TRUTH We lay in the trench looking at the blue sky while the soft spring breeze blew over us with thrilling freshness. We sighed unconsciously for bird songs; but No Man's Land is without melody. Were we dreaming? Surely we were hearing a song. ... It rang out glad and free, and we who lis- tened knew, with the first notes, God and the uncon- querable soul. That stirring voice held us under a spell. It ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and we were quiet with a new experience of breathless still- ness. Then with one accord from silence we broke into ringing, loud applause. We contrived to send a mes- sage into that Saxon trench, begging the man with the divine gift, to come out and sing to us again. We would not shoot ! So each morning for many a day he sang, and we lived, it seemed, upon his voice. One night orders came to vacate our trench as soon 23 PRELUDE as possible. In the excitement and hurry of depar- ture we could not notify our successors of the Saxon 's morning song. We heard about it afterwards. At dawn he rose from the enemy trench to sing. A shot rang through the stillness. He fell dead. His fellow-men think and say, ''Treachery!" But he knows the truth. And we, we cannot forget ! UNDERSTANDING The wide world is between us, We speak in different tongues. Strange seas and unknown lands We must cross, defying death; But in the clear-swept dawn We shall meet and know! THE END 24 CONGRESS iiiii|iif«