Irene's Dream
Leaf, flower, and stem and fibre of the plant,
A gracious mimicry of livelier life,
Pointing the links that chain the least and lowest
To life placed on the summit of the scale.
She taught me all the language of the birds,
And made it seem a human speech to me;
And all the meaning of that fearless joy
That fills the world with movement.
Flor.Tell me more.
The life you praise seems half a miracle.
Whence came these parents in their lifetime who
In dreams thus watch over your orphanhood?
And did they leave you friendless and alone?
Irene. I am not friendless. I could tell you more,
But you are almost smiling.
Flor.No, not so—
Or if I smile, I reverence your words
For your faith's sake and loftiness of thought.
I learn from you more than I could repay
By any teaching from the world without.
Irene. I know not whence my parents came; I think
Not they, but some yet older habitant
Built this lone mansion, which you say is like
A foreign stranger from some southern clime
Surprised to find itself on English soil.
Flor. I have seen such in Italy—but now
A gracious mimicry of livelier life,
Pointing the links that chain the least and lowest
To life placed on the summit of the scale.
She taught me all the language of the birds,
And made it seem a human speech to me;
And all the meaning of that fearless joy
That fills the world with movement.
Flor.Tell me more.
The life you praise seems half a miracle.
Whence came these parents in their lifetime who
In dreams thus watch over your orphanhood?
And did they leave you friendless and alone?
Irene. I am not friendless. I could tell you more,
But you are almost smiling.
Flor.No, not so—
Or if I smile, I reverence your words
For your faith's sake and loftiness of thought.
I learn from you more than I could repay
By any teaching from the world without.
Irene. I know not whence my parents came; I think
Not they, but some yet older habitant
Built this lone mansion, which you say is like
A foreign stranger from some southern clime
Surprised to find itself on English soil.
Flor. I have seen such in Italy—but now
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