Classic Poem

Thou knowest, O my own Unsung,
I longed to speak a common tongue,
To set this reed
Unto the voice of Everyday
With its familiar yea and nay,
Unto the common heart and need.
Yet oftentimes, indeed, I seem
To dream;—to dream …
How over walls of paradise
The darling trees lean down to shed
A petal. And I wake, with eyes
Uncomforted.
Ah, Beautiful, be mild to teach
This newcomer the household speech;
So I some day with better grace
May take the bounty of the place:
Some day with eyes that know the years
I may have wiser words to sing,
Nor eat my bread with furtive tears
Of home-longing.
But go where lights and highways call,
To hear the soothsay of them all,
And rest by any door;
With hands outheld and heart uplift
To take, and welcome for a gift,
The one day more.