by Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882 - 1961)
Again, as always, when the shadows fall
Language: English
Again, as always, when the shadows fall,
In that sweet space between the dark and day,
I leave the present and its fretful claims
And seek the dim past where my memories stay.
I dream an old, forgotten, far-off dream,
And think old thoughts and live old scenes anew,
Till suddenly I reach the heart of Spring—
The spring that brought me you!
I see again a little woody lane,
The moonlight rifting golden through the trees;
I hear the plaintive chirp of drowsy bird
Lulled dreamward by a tender, vagrant breeze;
I hold your hand, I look into your eyes,
I touch your lips,—oh, peerless, matchless dower!
Oh, Memory thwarting Time and Space and Death!
Oh, Little Perfect Hour!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Shadowed Dreams : Women's Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, Rutgers University Press, 2006, p.105; first appeared in The Crisis, c1920.
Text Authorship:
- by Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882 - 1961), "Douce Souvenance", written 1920, first published c1920 [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 Brittney Benton (b. 1999), "Memories", 2022 [ soprano and piano ], from Only in Dreams, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 120