If My Mother Knew
IF MY MOTHER KNEW
If my mother knew
How our doves at dawn
Shake me with their wings,
Wild, bewildered, wan,
When the white star sings
And they would be gone:
Would she from her sleep
Rise and look afar,
Past our fold and keep,
To that pulsing star?
If my mother knew
How the heath in flower,
With its faint perfume
At the twilight hour,
Fills my little room
Like some lady's bower:
Would she from the hearth
Rise and look again,
Past our piteous dearth
To the purpling plain?
If my mother knew
How my heart will beat
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