Classic Poem

I

Little flame that barely kindled
Flickered low,
Little flame that paled and dwindled
As we watched you, grieving so
That the life our love had wakened
To the dark again should go.

How we strove and strove to win you
From the night,
Till the baby-spirit in you
Slowly conquered, burning bright,
And the jealous shades were scattered,
And our hearts were filled with light!

II

When I think of you I see
A flame-winged fritillary
Glancing over daffodils.

When I think of you I hear
Leaping laughing amber-clear
Sun-enchanted rills.

III

Lively as a trout,
Flashing in and out
The golden mesh of sunlight
That nets the crystal river —

Darting here and there
Through the dewy air
My little lassie frolics
With laughing life aquiver.

IV

When you dance
Amber-bright the sunbeams glance
In your tossing hair;

So your name
Calls to mind a little flame
Dancing in the air —

Little flame for ever dancing
In the rain-washed air of April,
Amber flame through crystal glancing.

V

A charm or goldfinches
That flutter and flicker
Over daffodils flashing
Through sunshiny showers —

The light of your laughter
Flashes out of the silence
Though you have been sleeping
In dreamland for hours.