You forget, But the wind remembers.
THE APPLE-JELLY-FISH-TREE
Down in the depths of the sea Grew the Apple-Jelly-Fish-Tree.
It was named by a queer old robber And his mates three.
I watched it for a second, I watched it for a day.
It did not change color For its colors stay.
It was as red, as yellow, as white, as blue As gold and stones with the light through!
I watched it long and long Till a flying sunfish Swam through its branches.
He had opal wings And a sapphire tail.
No wonder robbers like to stay Where fish so shining come to play!
THREE LOVES
Angel-love, Fairy-love, Wave-love, Which will you choose?
Angel-love . . . golden-yellow and far white . . .
Fairy-love . . . golden yellow and green . . .
Wave-love . . . scarlet and azure blue . . .
Which will you choose?
I will keep them in a box Locked with a twisted key.
I will give them to people who need love, I will let them choose.
Fairy-love blows away like leaves.
Angels I know little about.
For myself I choose wave-love Because of the wind and the sea and my heart.
THE FIELD OF WONDER
What could be more wonderful Than the place where I walk sometimes?
Swaying like trees in rain . . .
Swaying like trees in sunshine When breezes stir nothing but happiness . . .
What could be more lovely?
I walk in the Field of Wonder Where colors come to be; I stare at the sky . . .
I feel myself lifting on the wind As the swallows lift and blow upward . . .
I see colors fade out, they die away . . .
I blow across a cloud . . . I am lifted . . .
How can I change again into a little girl When wings are in my feeling of gladness?
This is strange to know On a summer day at noon, This is a wild new joy When summer is over.
The scarlet of three maple trees Will guide me home, Oh mother my dear!
Fear nothing: I will come home Before snow falls!
MOON DOVES
The moon has a dove-cote safe and small, Hid in the velvet sky: The doves are her companions sweet; She has no others.
Moon doves on the wing are white As a valley of stars, When they fly, there is shining Like a golden river.
I see so many whirling away and away, How can they get home again?
The moon is calm and never wears an anxious look, She goes on smiling.
I hear so many doves along the sky How will her dove-cote hold them?
The moon says not one word to me; She lets me wonder.
I WENT TO SEA
I WENT to sea in a gla.s.s-bottomed boat And found that the loveliest sh.e.l.ls of all Are hidden below in valleys of sand.
I saw coral and sponge and weed And bubbles like jewels dangling.
I saw a creature with eyes of mist Go by slowly.
Star-fish fingers held the water . . .
Let it go again . . .
I saw little fish, the children of the sea; They were gay and busy.
I wanted the sea-weed purple; I wanted the sh.e.l.ls; I wanted a little fish to hold in my hands; I wanted the big fish to stop wandering about, And tell me all they knew . . .
I have come back safe and dry And know no more secrets Than yesterday!
THREE THOUGHTS OF MY HEART
As I was straying by the forest brook I heard my heart speak to me: Listen; said my heart, I have three thoughts for you . . .
a thought of clouds, A thought of birds, A thought of flowers.
I sat upon a cushion of moss, Listening, Where the light played, and the green shadows: What would you do . . . I asked my heart . . .
If you were a floating ship of the sky . . .
If you were a peering bird . . .
If you were a wild geranium?
And my heart made answer: That is what I wonder and wonder!
After all it is life I love, After all I am a living thing, After all I am the heart of you . . .
I am content!
SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAIN