Poems (Sharpless)/Wonderings

by Frances M. Sharpless

For works with similar titles, see Wonderings.

WONDERINGS

I wonder why there comes so oft A certain mild, bewitching spell,That binds me in its bonds so soft,— Ah! who can tell?

I wonder why each bird that sings, Each flower that meets my gladdened eye,A dream of fairy rapture brings,— I wonder why?

The sunlight quivering in the grass, The murmur of a water-fall,The shadows that so lightly pass, Where bright beams fall,—

The thousand sights and wordless sounds Thrill all my heart with pleasure wild,Till with a painful joy it bounds, Like a thralled child.

Dim visions of a higher life Come thronging o'er my panting soul,These lives of mine wage woful strife Beyond control.

I only know, I only feel, This silent joy, the ecstasyThat words are powerless to reveal:— I wonder why?