MAY DREAMS
" Where have you been, this long, bright day ? "
I said last night to a tired child
" I've been to the woods to see if May
Is coming," she said, and gravely smiled.
" And what did you find, sweet searcher, ― what ?
How did the woods reward your quest?"
" I found one blue forget-me-not,
And a robin thinking about his nest;
" And springing grasses and clover-shoots,
And a bluebird singing overhead
Violets under some gnarled old roots,
And nodding columbines white and red
" Some star-flowers, too, by a shady pool,
Such wee, white things !
and I bathed my feet
In a dancing rivulet, clear and cool,
And I gathered ferns and mosses sweet;
" Oh, and so many things besides !
But now I am tired, please, ― good night! "
And she lays her hand in mine and glides
Gently, gracefully out of sight.
But her last words haunt me, soft and low, ―
" Oh, and so many things besides ! "
w t w
Caroline Atherton (Briggs) Mason was the youngest of seven sisters. She and her family moved to Fitchburg in 1852, when she was 19. She wrote poetry all her life.
This monthly series is organized by Sally Cragin, and sponsored by New England Poetry Club. We want to bring CAM's work to the children of Fitchburg, whom she loved. We hope that teachers who receive this text will read work aloud to their students and other children. For more information, email sallycragin@verizon.net
