Poems (Odom)/Only a Dream
For works with similar titles, see Only a Dream.
ONLY A DREAM.
I sit alone in the shadows— Alone in the purple gloomOf the silent summer twilight, That steals in the quiet room.The breath of the past is upon me, It comes on the dewy air,To steep my soul in the fragrance Of the flowers it used to wear.
My heart goes back to the summer, When the roses were all aglow,And my spirit was touched with a secret, That every woman must know.Does it come but once, I wonder— But once in our whole life long—And shall my future be ever An echo of this sad song?
The song that is ever repeating Its wild notes through my brain, Sometimes with a dash of rapture, Sometimes with a throb of pain.Ever and ever about me Quickening, my pulses flow,Bringing his image before me, Whether I will or no.
My fingers thrill and tremble In the phantom clasp of his own—The spell of his stronger spirit, Upon my spirit is thrown;And yet, it is over forever; Our dream and the bliss it brought—But the past is radiant always With the gleam of the light it caught.