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1876–1944

BOY O’ DREAMS

Helen Hay Whitney

Must I leave you in the mountains, Boy o’ dreams, Must I leave you where the fountains Toss the silver of their streams,

Where the trees are clothed in samite, And the little broken moon Is a symbol and an answer, Like the reading of a rune?

May I take you to the city, Boy o’ dreams, Where your heart will break with pity At the lethargy that seems

Only half alive to living, Only enemy to mirth, Where the dusty facts will blind you To the fancies of the earth?

I must take you — but I'll keep you, Boy o’ dreams, Where no alien winds shall sweep you, In a secret place that gleams,

With the light of your own laughter, Yours the vessel, yours the chart, And we'll brave the storm together. You, the captain of my heart.

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BOY O’ DREAMS · Helen Hay Whitney · Poetry Cove