Victorian Women Writers Project

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Contents

• Part I.—
  • Hope 11
  • In April 15
  • By the Arno (Sunset) 26
  • At Night 29
  • A Wanderer 33
  • Your Gift 35
  • My Angel 38
  • Speedwells 40
  • In Spring 41
  • Wisdom 46
  • To the Caryatid (in the Elgin Room, British Museum) 47
  • Release 49
  • Comrades 51
  • To a Stranger 54
  • A Prayer 56
  • At Last 57
  • Giving 61
  • October 63
  • A Concert 65
  • In Yonder Bay 67
  • Night 69
  • Out on the Moor 72
  • page: 8
  • The Unknown Poets 74
  • To one Asleep 77
  • Beyond the Walls of Peace 79
  • The Songs Unsung 81
• Part II.—
  • A BALLAD OF VICTORY 85
• PART III.—SONGS
  • I.—My Love shall be a Cloud, to Float 93
  • II.—My Bird who may not Lift his Wing 94
  • III.—Oh, Moons of Longing that Roll 96
  • IV.—If I were in the Valley‐Land 98
  • V.—Why am I Singing all Alone 99
  • VI.—Ah Love, the Sweet Spring Blossoms Cling 100
  • VII.—When the Sun Shone on the Sand there 102
  • VIII.—She Comes through the Meadow Yonder 103
  • IX.—Amid a Crown of Radiant Hills 104
  • X.—The Little Songs that Come and Go 106
  • XI.—Because your Treasure is Near 107
  • XII.—I Plucked my Love from out my Heart 109
  • XIII.—Outside the Hedge of Roses 111
  • XIV.—Across the Sea beyond the Sand 113
  • XV.—For Love of you my Lute was Strung 115
  • XVI.—I Could not through the Burning Day 117
  • XVII.—Outside your Heart the Lonely Way 118
  • XVIII.—Because I Built my Nest so High 120
  • XIX.—My Lover’s Lute has Golden Strings 122
  • XX.—If all the World were Right 124
  • XXI.—If my Poor Words were Colours 125
  • XXII.—If you will Sing the Songs I Play 126
  • XXIII.—Through all the Happy Summer‐time 127
  • XXIV.—I do not Love you Very Much 128
  • page: 9
  • Three Songs written to Old Music
    • I.—Croatian 131
    • 2.—Finnish (a translation) 133
    • 3.—Russian 135
• PART IV.—TO MY CHILDREN
  • I.—Shall I make a Song for You 139
  • II.—Sleep my little Dearest One 141
  • III.—My little Dear, so fast Asleep 142
  • IV.—Her Hair 144
  • V.—On the Moor 146
  • VI.—When you are Lonely 147
  • VII.—In the Woods 149
  • VIII.—June 151
  • IX.—Two Songs 153
  • X.—In Summer Days 154
• PART V.—MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
  • The One I Choose 159
  • Orpheus 161
  • The Clavichord 163
  • At Duclair 165
  • My Palace‐Home 168
  • A Portrait 169
  • My Sweetheart 172
  • Her Lover 173
  • The Morning Songs 175
  • In the Quantock Hills 177
  • Evening 179
  • page: 10
  • To‐night 181
  • Nobody in Town 183
  • A November Rose 185
  • A Model 187
  • A Bride 190
  • For Windows by Louis Davis 192

Hope

• AS still as a shadow falling,
• As swift as a straying leaf,
• And sweet as a windless morning,
• At dawn when the days are brief,
• Is a snare shall be set to enfold me,
• Is a net shall be cast and shall hold me,
• Shall gather my soul from grief.

• And spun very fine the thread is,
• As gossamer webs that seal
• The dews in the folded blossom,
• And trembling and faint I kneel,—
• For my joy in the delicate weaving
• That is made for my spirit’s receiving
• With threads that are strong as steel.

Preface

To the new poems in this book I have added some of those published in ‘A Light Load’ and in ‘Songs and Other Verses.’ For permission to reprint several of the more recent I am indebted to the kindness of the editors of The English Review, The Nation, and Maclure’s Magazine. Mr. Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead has allowed me to add to these the three songs written for him to old music.