WHY FADES A DREAM?

  Why fades a dream? 
    An iridescent ray
  Flecked in between the tryst
    Of night and day. 
    Why fades a dream?—­
  Of consciousness the shade
  Wrought out by lack of light and made
    Upon life’s stream. 
    Why fades a dream?

  That thought may thrive,
    So fades the fleshless dream;
  Lest men should learn to trust
    The things that seem. 
    So fades a dream,
  That living thought may grow
  And like a waxing star-beam glow
    Upon life’s stream—­
    So fades a dream.

THE SPARROW

  A little bird, with plumage brown,
  Beside my window flutters down,
  A moment chirps its little strain,
  Ten taps upon my window-pane,
  And chirps again, and hops along,
  To call my notice to its song;
  But I work on, nor heed its lay,
  Till, in neglect, it flies away.

  So birds of peace and hope and love
  Come fluttering earthward from above,
  To settle on life’s window-sills,
  And ease our load of earthly ills;
  But we, in traffic’s rush and din
  Too deep engaged to let them in,
  With deadened heart and sense plod on,
  Nor know our loss till they are gone.

SPEAKIN’ O’ CHRISTMAS

  Breezes blowin’ middlin’ brisk,
  Snow-flakes thro’ the air a-whisk,
  Fallin’ kind o’ soft an’ light,
  Not enough to make things white,
  But jest sorter siftin’ down
  So ’s to cover up the brown
  Of the dark world’s rugged ways
  ‘N’ make things look like holidays. 
  Not smoothed over, but jest specked,
  Sorter strainin’ fur effect,
  An’ not quite a-gittin’ through
  What it started in to do. 
  Mercy sakes! it does seem queer
  Christmas day is ’most nigh here. 
  Somehow it don’t seem to me
  Christmas like it used to be,—­
  Christmas with its ice an’ snow,
  Christmas of the long ago. 
  You could feel its stir an’ hum
  Weeks an’ weeks before it come;
  Somethin’ in the atmosphere
  Told you when the day was near,
  Did n’t need no almanacs;
  That was one o’ Nature’s fac’s. 
  Every cottage decked out gay—­
  Cedar wreaths an’ holly spray—­
  An’ the stores, how they were drest,
  Tinsel tell you could n’t rest;
  Every winder fixed up pat,
  Candy canes, an’ things like that;
  Noah’s arks, an’ guns, an’ dolls,
  An’ all kinds o’ fol-de-rols. 
  Then with frosty bells a-chime,
  Slidin’ down the hills o’ time,
  Right amidst the fun an’ din
  Christmas come a-bustlin’ in,
  Raised his cheery voice to call
  Out a welcome to us all;
  Hale and hearty, strong an’ bluff,
  That was Christmas, sure enough. 
  Snow knee-deep an’ coastin’ fine,
  Frozen mill-ponds all ashine,