by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)
Chiming a dream by the way
Language: English
Chiming a dream by the way With ocean's rapture and roar, I met a maiden to-day Walking alone on the shore: Walking in maiden wise, Modest and kind and fair, The freshness of spring in her eyes And the fulness of spring in her hair. Cloud-shadow and scudding sun-burst Were swift on the floor of the sea, And a mad wind was romping its worst, But what was their magic to me? Or the charm of the midsummer skies? I only saw she was there, A dream of the sea in her eyes And the kiss of the sea in her hair. I watched her vanish in space; She came where I walked no more; But something had passed of her grace To the spell of the wave and the shore; And now, as the glad stars rise, She comes to me, rosy and rare, The delight of the wind in her eyes And the hand of the wind in her hair.
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Authorship:
- by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903), "To my mother", appears in A Book of Verses, first published 1888 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Elizabeth Youel Allen , "Echoes", published c1905 [voice and piano], from Echoes : three songs of parting, no. 2, Chicago : L.C. Küssner [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 162