Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/306

Once there was a garden,
 Daintily scented with clover—
Strewn with poppies asleep
 And corn leaves fluttering over;
A fainting sound of waters—
 A chirp in the swooning grass,
And yellow, spying sunflowers
 Turning as you pass,

You brought your flute and played me
 The sweetest of all love tunes;
'Tis the day of my heart—of all days—
 The June of my heart—of all Junes.
How thrills the whimsical wind,
 Where the true vines clamber and cling!
Love whispers in promise blind,
 “I am thy beautiful king.”

But down in the town below
 The fair words never fall;
And a ear rolls to and fro,
 And over the hearts of all.
All that is sweet must die—
 All that is bright must fade;
“Love is a dragon!” they cry,
 “Let the wheels go over his head.”

We three sat there together,
 Over our hearts a spell;
The poppies kindly slept,
 But the sunflowers watched us well.
You, with your passionate heart—
 I, with my fragile prayer;
And He, with his subtle spirit,
 Standing between us there.

Standing between us, love—
 For he had the right, you know—
Bidding me to come,
 And bidding you to go.