The Inn of Dreams/The Dance
For works with similar titles, see The Dance.
The Dance
Do you remember that day I danced in the woods, Under the dancing leaves?Do you remember the delicate blue of the sky And the gold-dust in the air? And the tawny harvest fields, and the heavy sheaves? Summer was surely in one of her bravest moods . . . And oh, the rare Swift joy that lifted life to an ecstasy, That shining day I danced for you, dear, in the woods!
The purple twilight came, and the amber moon . . . And the fairies danced with me . . .And the shy fauns crept from the tangled thicket near, And the startled dryads bent, White and starry-eyed, each from her secret tree, To watch that mystical dance, to share that heavenly swoon That mad, bright banishment. . . . For we were free in the perfect country, dear, When purple twilight came and the amber moon . . .
Some day I shall dance again that mystical dance . . . I know not when or where! But the angels shall dance with me, and I shall not be afraid. I shall look in their deep eyes . . .And feel their arms about me, and their kisses in my hair, And know that time is over, and the desperate ways of chance. . . . I shall be very wise, And glad at last, and the walls of the world shal fade . . .The day when I dance again that mystical dance.