Classic Poem

I QUESTIONED them narrowly, all,
If any went out or in:
And they answered me, wondering, all,
That no one went out or in.

Why wilt thou visit in dreams?—
Once with a little harp
Held up in thy hands to play,
And thy down-smiling eyes on my face.
But when I would raise me to hear,
There was only the wind so lone—
And the wind was thy harp and thou.

Why wilt thou visit in dreams?
Once with a tendrilled wreath
Hung over thy rounded arm,
As though thou wert fain to dance.
But when I would watch thee at dance,
The vine at the casement swung low—
And the vine was thy wreath and thou.

Why wilt thou visit in dreams?
Once with a lamp of pure light
Wherein things hidden were clear.
But when I would walk by thy light,
Only the westering moon—
The low moon at my window, looked in—
And the moon was thy lamp and thou.

Why wilt thou visit in dreams?
Once with a cup that o'erflowed
With a draught that could heal, could save,
But when I would whisper, “I thirst!”
Only the fountain I heard,
The laugh of the fountain by night—
And the fountain was thou and thy cup.

I questioned them narrowly, all,
If any went out or in;
And they answered me, wondering, all,
That no one went out or in.