Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,
Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.
I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter:
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter -
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.
A tale begun in other days,
When summer suns were glowing-
A simple chime, that served to time
The rhythm of our rowing-
Whose echoes live in memory yet,
Though envious years would say "forget."
Come, hearken, ere voice of dread,
With bitter tidings laden,
Shall summon to unwelcome bed
A melancholy maiden!
We are but older children, dear,
Who fret to find our bedtime near.
Without, the frost, the blinding snow,
The storm-wind's moody madness-
Within, the firelight's ruddy glow,
And childhood's nest of gladness.
The magic words shall hold the fast:
Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.
And, though the shadow of a sigh
May tremble through the story,
For"happy summer glory-
It shall not touch, with breath of bale,
The pleasance of our fairy-tale.
YOU ARE READING
Through the looking glass and what Alice found there
Fantasi[#7 in LewisCarroll on 28.02.22] "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" is a novel by Lewis Carroll and the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world...
