Songs of Womanhood Part 4

Not one dared wake him--yet each breast Yearned to be pillow to a thing So fair. 'How will he smile?' thought they, 'In waking?...' But between them pressed One who with laughter bore the rogue away, Ere they had touched a feather of his wing.

Awakenings

The first time she awoke, Her room was filled with light; Thought she: They've made a little fire To warm me through the night....

The next time she awoke, Sweet music stirred the air; Thought she: They've brought a magic lyre To make my dreams more fair....

The third time she awoke, The dawn-swept sky was gray; Thought she: I know my heart's desire Will come to me to-day....

But empty was the street, And ashen was the hearth; And the music-maker's nimble feet Were speeding o'er the earth.

The Clouded Soul

O what have you done with your heart, daughter, And what have you done to your soul, my dear?

Your heart was like a lily in June, And your soul as a crystal clear....

O, I've thrown my heart in a well, mother, For the lily was sick, and needed rain: O, I've wept a cloud round my soul, mother, And we never shall see it again....

The Healer

O will you have my heart, sweet maid, My heart so true, my heart so red?

O will you have my heart, dear maid, And give me yours instead?

O keep your heart, my good young man, For mine is wounded, deep and sore; O keep your heart, my kind young man, For mine shall love no more....

The Open Door

Why have you locked the door, my maid, Why have you locked the door?

O! I have let Grief out, she said, Never to enter more.

Open and set it wide, my maid, Open and set it wide!

Lest Joy should come one day, he said, And have to stand outside.

The Fugitive

When she returned to the clouded land, She held sweet flowers in her hand; Her eyes were bright With a beaming light That none could understand.

Said they: Where, sister, hast thou been?

What hidden glory hast thou seen?

What magic sod Has thy white foot trod; What song-filled groves of green?

Said she: I followed across the plain To the gates of Love, to the gates of Pain: By one, by two, All the rest went through: But I came back again....

THE FAITHFUL WIFE

The Faithful Wife

It was a banished chieftain Returned from oversea, And he saw his wife and children Come smiling o'er the lea.

The moon had wrapped them in her beams, The wind was in their hair, Their feet that trod the wild bluebell Were light as wings on air.

'O have you come to meet me, wife, As you once did swear to do?

Full seven years have I been gone, And was your word so true?'

He took her by the white cool hand Where the golden rings shone gay; He took her youngest on his arm And joyful led the way.

'O fair are ye, my father's towers, And sweet my garden dear: G.o.d grant I never leave you more Till Death o'ertake me here!'

The lights were burning in the hall, As they sat them down to meat; The pipers piped a merry tune The while their lord did eat.

He looked to right, he looked to left, And a happy man was he, As he stroked the head of the good gre-hound That stood beside his knee.

'O, I am weary, wife, my wife, And the flames begin to pale; Lead on, for I would sleep awhile Before I tell my tale.'

She lifted the bright curtain That led into her bower; There came the tramp of parting feet And silence held the tower.

'O wife, how long have I been gone?

The room smells of roses still-- O wife, our babes are very young, Their limbs are cold and chill....'

She folded up their raiment small, She smiled but said no word: She laid her children in one bed, Then came beside her lord.

He could not sleep, he could not wake, But lay in silence there; His dear wife held him by the hand, He felt her wind-blown hair--