  INDIANAPOLIS Copyright, 1883, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1901, 1905, by James Whitcomb Riley Copyright 1921, The Bobbs-Merrill Company All rights reservedPrinted in the United States of AmericaPRESS OF INSCRIBED TO THE ELECT OF LOVE,—OR SIDE-BY-SIDE So were I but a minstrel, deft At weaving, with the trembling strings Of my glad harp, the warp and weft Of rondels such as rapture sings,— I'd loop my lyre across my breast, Nor stay me till my knee found rest In midnight banks of bud and flower Beneath my lady's lattice-bower. And there, drenched with the teary dews, I'd woo her with such wondrous art As well might stanch the songs that ooze Out of the mockbird's breaking heart; So light, so tender, and so sweet Should be the words I would repeat, Her casement, on my gradual sight, Would blossom as a lily might. CONTENTS |
|
