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Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916

"Pipes O'Pan at Zekesbury"

"That's why I wanted you
particularly to note that 'eminent characteristic' I spoke of. Tommy
could just as well be sitting, with a fine cigar, on the front piazza
in an easy chair, as, with his dhudeen, on the back porch, on an empty
box, where every night you'll find him. Its the unconscious dropping
back into the old ways of his father, and his father's father, and his
father's father's father. In brief, he sits there the poor lorn symbol
of the long oppression of his race."


RAGWEED AND FENNEL


WHEN MY DREAMS COME TRUE.

I.
When my dreams come true--when my dreams come true--
Shall I lean from out my casement, in the starlight and the dew,
To listen--smile and listen to the tinkle of the strings
Of the sweet guitar my lover's fingers fondle, as he sings?
And as the nude moon slowly, slowly shoulders into view,
Shall I vanish from his vision--when my dreams come true?
When my dreams come true--shall the simple gown I wear
Be changed to softest satin, and my maiden-braided hair
Be raveled into flossy mists of rarest, fairest gold,
To be minted into kisses, more than any heart can hold?--
Or "the summer of my tresses" shall my lover liken to
"The fervor of his passion"--when my dreams come true?

II.


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