AN ROSe-DRIFI 1 OS ANGELES ^ARDEN #^^ € # Class Pcypszy Bnnk . E 5 2. L4- rnpyriglrfF ; ^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, LEAF-SHADOWS AND ROSE-DRIFT LEAF-SHADOWS AND ROSE-DRIFT BEING LITTLE SONGS FROM A LOS ANGELES GARDEN BY OLIVE PERCIVAL CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED AT THE RIVERSIDE PRESS MDCCCCXI e^^.v V k COPYRIGHT, 191 1, BY OLIVE PERCIVAL Thanks are due The Butterfly, The Lotus, Smart Set, The Graphic and Sunset, for permission to repriiit certain of these poems ©CU30361G :^ TO CLARISSA GRAVES PERCIVAL WHO LOVED A GARDEN IN THE BERKSHIRE HILLS AND TO HELEN MASON PERCIVAL WHO LOVED A GARDEN IN THE MIDDLE WEST The Down-hyl Claim, Los Angeles, 191 1 And now my joy I in my garden take ; I want not wealth nor power ; Through lifers long hours ^ V II stroll and think and pause Before each little flower. T'ao Ch'ien, Fourth Century A. D. SPRING THE DISTURBERS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA . STAR-RISE IN POSSESSION THE CHEROKEE REHEARSAL 8 APRIL 9 BABY BLUE-EYES lo THE NEW MOON ii THE BEAUTY OF GLAZENWOOD . . 12 ALIEN SPRING BROKEN TRYST OUTSIDE IN THE FOOTHILLS 16 HER SYMBOLS 17 SUNSET SKIES 18 13 14 15 Embers 19 LILACS 20 GARDEN MAGIC 21 THE CHARM GIVER .... 22 THE FAVORITES 23 THE MIRACLE ^4 YOU 25 RELEASE 26 THE ROSE-ARBOR 27 MAY NOON 28 SUMMER UNDER THE TREES 31 JUNE 32 THE PLUMBAGO HEDGE .... 33 TREES AFTER DARK 34 THE HUMMING-BIRD 35 LOST 36 MAGNOLIAS 37 MY HILL 38 viii SILENCED 39 DISILLUSIONED 40 ENVY 41 JULY 42 HANDICAPPED ...... 43 UNDER THE JACARANDA TREE . . 44 DISLOYALTY 45 THE PIONEER 46 A COUNTRY ROSE-HEDGE ... 47 ESCAPE 48 FAVORITISM 49 LIFE 50 FOREST FIRES 51 AMARYLLIS 52 A CHOPIN NOCTURNE .... 53 CLOWNS 54 THE LILY-POOL 55 CONVALESCENCE 56 BREATH OF THE WEST .... 57 AUGUST NIGHTS 58 ix RETROSPECT 59 MOONRISE 60 SABBATH 61 DEFEATED 62 SUMMER VIGIL 63 AUTUMN WINTER'S APPROACH 67 SEPTEMBER AFTERGLOW ... 68 AUTUMN VICTORIES 69 DO YOU REMEMBER 70 LIFE'S PATCHWORK 7' THE POET AND THE PHILOSOPHER . 72 OCTOBER AFTERNOON .... 73 THE SECRET 74 NOVEMBER 75 DISCIPLINED 76 MYRTLE 77 UNFORGETTING 78 THE LAST ROSE 79 X THE MEADOW-LARK 80 RESIGNATION 81 SUNSET CLOUDS 82 OUTLIVED .83 NOVEMBER'S ROSE-DRIFT. ... 84 WINTER THE FIRST RAIN 87 WINTER TWILIGHT 88 THE REMEMBRANCER .... 89 A WINTER MORNING 90 THE PAST 91 TRANSMUTATION .92 IN THE RAINY SEASON .... 93 VALUES 94 ASHES OF ROSES 95 A RAINY SUNDAY 96 IN WINTER 97 CLEAR SKIES 98 PREJUDICE 99 xi READING IN THE GARDEN . . .100 A CHRISTMAS DAWN . . . .101 DUALITY 102 THE SCHEME ENTIRE . . . .103 THE READER 104 POINTS OF VIEW 105 TO A YEIZAN COLOR-PRINT . . .106 OLD BOOKS 107 DESTINY 108 FEBRUARY 109 MONA LISA no PAGANISM Ill AFTER THE RAIN 112 YELLOW TANAGERS 113 GRAY DAYS 114 A LOS ANGELES SUNSET . . . .115 ADEQUATE 116 THE END 117 SPRING THE DISTURBERS My garden is a quiet place ; It 's strange I cannot read : But O there are so many dreams And visions one must heed ! The roses whisper, whisper ; and all the towhees talk ; Then O the dancing shadow-leaves on the mossy walk ! SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Throughout the year, with ev'ry dress, With veils of light, of haze, of gloom, She wears her regal bridal-wreath Of Eden-scented orange-bloom. STAR-RISE The radiance of the young, young world is paling ; Grove and garden forget to sing; For through the spring-scented twigs of gray, gray fig-trees Glows the white ev'ning star of spring! IN POSSESSION Skies and hills and trees are mine ; O the beauty of the Spring ! Day of fragrant quietude ; Night of silences that sing ! THE CHEROKEE Through the lilac mist of April twilight, My roof gleams white with its fairy-snows That, under tropic sun, melt all too quickly ! O wonder-beauty ! O magic rose ! REHEARSAL The little flow'rs in the sweet and spear- straight grasses Devoutly nod and sing, in primal ecstasy ; All 's repetition of Botticelli springtimes, Of southern Aprils long ago, in Italy ! APRIL O ! when the great sky is blue, blue, blue. And the winds blow straight from the sea; O ! when the canyons are sweet, sweet, sweet With the springtime's old pageantry : It 's then from under a roof we must, sing- ing, wander far, — Forgetting sphinxes and riddles, from dawn to sunset-star ! BABY BLUE-EYES Not for the sunshine-daisies But for you all my praises, Tenderest flowers of blue ! Eyes o* my dear dream-children, Wet with the tears of spring dew ! THE NEW MOON Above the gum-tree's silhouette. In sky of pale, pale gold, Night lifts an Indian silver ring. Her broken bracelet old ! II THE BEAUTY OF GLAZENWOOD Sunrise sky and the sunset sea Are here in the heart of this my inconstant rose ; All youth's glamor and youth's appeal ! Does beauty suffice, O rose of a day ? Who knows ? ALIEN SPRING The high, high hills, the green, green hills, The snow-white clouds from the western sea Are now my metaphor of spring ; But once it was the anemone ! 13 BROKEN TRYST Through the white dawn-mist of April, (A bird sang somewhere near !) To the old rose-tree I hurried ; I called — O did you hear ? I touched a red, red rose — the petals shed ; Then — then I remembered that you were dead! '4- OUTSIDE The beauty of April's miracle Once brought ecstasy ; But since I 'm by joy forgot, it is Formal pageantry ! >5 IN THE FOOTHILLS On a wonderful day like this, The first of the spring, Do you know, O My Love, a song That is perfect enough to sing ? O My Love, O My Love, alas ! The beauty of spring, Though in every rose and vine. Is in none of the songs men sing ! On a radiant day like this, The first of the spring. Only flowers and clouds and birds With adequate gayety sing ! i6 HER SYMBOLS Gardenias are hers and the orange ; Jasmine and the long fairy-lace ; The daphnes ; magnolias ; tuberoses ; Lilies of a mystical grace ! Sweet, sweet, sweet are Her Flowers ! Bride-roses are hers and the daisy ; Wake-robins and dawn-flowers pale ; Azaleas that glimmer like moon-mist ; Iris and the shy virgins-veil ! White, white, white are Her Flowers ! 17 SUNSET SKIES My garden is flaunting ten thousand roses But perverse am I : I love the best Those heavenly fields of azaleas, iris, Now abloom for all, above the vv^est ! j8 EMBERS Laugh not at me, Little Children, For I 'm as young as the Spring ! See the red silk of the prune-tree ! The sheen of the blackbird's wing ! 19 LILACS Sweet are the lilacs of that far-ofF spring ; Sweet is the voice of one long dead ! Fragrance of lilacs to my heart must bring Pain honey-sweet, uncomforted ! GARDEN MAGIC April-night and my garden tell their secrets to me, For I watch by the pool, beneath a dead olive-tree. White-magic is learned from an imaged star ; And sorcerer's spells from the basil-jar. But it 's heigh-ho ! It 's heigh-ho ! I none dare tell, But the white birds and blue moths, at matin- bell ! THE CHARM GIVER As I was hurrying up Life's hill, Once on a May-morn fair, With all my dreams and in search of Joy, I met with Goody Care. She waylaid me with horror-tales And took my toys from me ; But then at parting she gave a charm, Called Perfect Sympathy ! THE FAVORITES O there are roses white in my garden, White as a bride-dress, white as a shroud ; And there are flawless roses beside them Pink as a shell is, or sunrise-cloud ! O there are roses red in my garden, Redder than war is, redder than wine ! But yellow roses, yellow as sunset. They are the roses that I call mine ! *3 THE MIRACLE My heart was full of painted toys, The dreams of dreams and childish joys ; Forlorn, forlorn, forlorn was I, When Love came ! But miracle : my world made new ! New stars, new dreams that all come true ! I 'm singing, singing, singing now Since Love came ! 24 YOU You are akin to the singing morn And to the peace of noon ; O you are one with the burning sun And with the wearied moon ! Many-mooded as sea or fire : Only you are my one desire ! *5 RELEASE Song of bird and pinkest dawn, Scent of rose in air ! Over seas my love is gone And I do not care ! Old, old call of chanticleer, Maids bid me arise ; I must up and sing, for fear Of my Mother's sighs ! a6 THE ROSE-ARBOR White boughs, white boughs, Bent with the Maytime snows ; White heaped the path : Drifts from a Banksia rose ! 17 MAY NOON The little parks have lost their Eden-green ; The town 's all a blatant show ! Where is the wonder of the almond-bloom ? O where did the Springtime go ? 28 SUMMER UNDER THE TREES My garden has many whisperers And gossips very, very dear ; (Their charm the graceless only can forget !) O every time I listen I Leave off the old, subverting fear And cease to be but a marionette ! 3« JUNE When the pepper-tree trails her lace in the dust And the roses rest ; When at dawn and at dusk the frogs whir in tune And the rain-gods jest : It is June, white June 1 3» THE PLUMBAGO HEDGE I wake and with bewildered eyes Behold the summer, noonday skies, Lying in little blossom-flecks along the wall; It is a sign for me, I know, Of many heavens here below: Radiant, tender harmony awaiting all ! 33 TREES AFTER DARK Close against the old, old mystery Of the blue night-sky, Stand black and tall the eucalyptus trees ; They sway like marching spearmen in the breeze ; «* And aloof, like idlers, live-oaks 5tand, Watching them go by ! 34 THE HUMMING-BIRD Did you see, did you hear that green glint of a bird, The pomegranates over and under ? O a garden is ever, each day in the year, A place of Edenic, sweet wonder ! 35 LOST For a little mountain-brook, snow-cool, Through these desert -years I grope; But all is mirage, mirage, mirage And deliria of hope ! 36 MAGNOLIAS Brimming with the sweet of a tropic summer Are the blossom-cups white of the magnolia- tree ; Drugged with dreams are they of enthralling sorrows, Of incredible joys, — by a far, far, moonlit sea! 37 MY HILL Between the brown and oak-plumed hills Is the hill of my dreams, desires ; All day a realm of blue, blue mist And at sunset all opal fires. Ah ! the feet of the heedless its paths have found ; But for me it is ever forbidden ground ! 38 SILENCED Last night, the gray bird sang by its nest In the jewel-green camphor-tree ; The nest now is cold; silent the bird; O the pain of death's mystery ! 39 DISILLUSIONED Time's poet and lover find June-days sweet ; Yet are they sadder to me Than twilight pools where dead autumn-leaves float; Than sobs that die in a violin's throat ; Or winter's white pageantry ! 40 ENVY I would that I were an early riser, Up and alert before dawn ; Then would I know the long story That you, my dear Morning Glory, Hear from that bird on the lawn ! I would that I were a flow'r — and wiser! JULY Bleached the hills and the river-bed ; Brown the mesa, where linnets sing ; All the days are white glare, white dust. O the mists and the dreams of Spring ! 42 HANDICAPPED The nosegay Life handed me at birth Is such a crude, crude thing and strange, All odorless, thorny, gaudy flow'rs ! Who but a god dare rearrange ? 41 UNDER THE JACARANDA TREE At all times of the year, is my garden a place Where for me many miracles come to pass ; Into flowers to-day, the blue sky I saw change : Jacaranda flowers upon the grass ! 44 DISLOYALTY With gay nasturtiums embroidered o'er, Is Summer's dusty, dusty gown ; Lobelia-blue is her jeweled belt ; An oleander-wreath her crown ! All sweetness, brightness ; yet we tire of her perfection And dream of winter verdure, with unfair affection ! 45 THE PIONEER Nobody knows his name to-day But far greater than soldier or king was he ; As in this land of blighting sun, For the future he planted a tree, a tree ! 46 A COUNTRY ROSE-HEDGE White dust of a rainless summer And chill of the fog at night Are hard to endure, O Roses ! But winter 's a gleesome mummer And all of these months of blight His masked smile shall cure, Poor Roses ! 47 ESCAPE All the hills around were high, were high •, But the sea- fog broke the dream ; And the snow-white bird flew by, flew by ! See how pale the death-lamps gleam ! 48 FAVORITISM Mourning-brides, daisies, sweet-johns and pinks And pretty-maids, pansies, snow-on-the-lea ; All, despite the white glare and neglect, Are blooming so gayly, daily, for me ! 49 LIFE An awkward scramble ; then A song of shrill delight ; The dangers of the nesting-time; At last, when comes the resting-time, A wounded, silent flight : The fate of birds and men ! 50 FOREST FIRES A summer of white dust-smother ! Meads All silence ; the foothills bleaching weeds ! Garden and bee are dead and pools are dry ! Pray ! Pray ! For devil-fires enflame the sky ! 51 AMARYLLIS O the world it withers in the desert-wind ; (And three moons away is the rain !) The wild-gourd vine swaggers through the roadside-dust. Too content with its white domain. In my brown, drear garden, is a sudden pink : (Not a rose on vine nor on tree !) *Tis a row of lilies and without one leaf! O adorable bravery ! A CHOPIN NOCTURNE A dark, cool night and over-sweet With tuberose breath ; A jeweled javelin in the heart : Ecstatic death! S3 CLOWNS O the goggled hop-toads are fat, old clowns ! All day, in a fern-bed so cool, do they loll and wait And rehearse their joke ; but at dusk, attired In spotted, green silk, how alert and import- unate ! 54 THE LILY-POOL I have heard of a lake, where great ships sail; On whose shores twenty cities take their pleasure ! I am hid in a garden, to reflect One white lily, a lonely woman's treasure ! 55 CONVALESCENCE As content and as still as a lizard of bronze, On the terrace I lie, With beautiful, rhythmic dreams. Is it true I once followed the rush of the town ? And ne*er looked at the sky ? How droll and remote that seems ! 56 BREATH OF THE WEST White nights, white days drift by ; And the summer goes Under a fleckless sky ; The sunset-sunrise breath Is of greasewood, sage ! O the mere scent-of-rose Who M buy ? Not I ! Not I ! 57 AUGUST NIGHTS The garden 's parched and dusty flow'rs Grow sweet, grow cool with dew ; The country silence sings and brings Serenity anew 1 58 RETROSPECT There is one thing more, more futile Under the moon, under the sun. Than to water dead, dead rose-vines : It is to weep, when love is done ! 59 MOONRISE The splendor of the southern summer-moon, new risen, Appalls like seraphim, between the trees and hill! Unworded, old, ancestral joys and fears awaken ! In adoration, all the little birds are still ! 60 SABBATH I have for mine a hidden sanctuary And there my spirit, on its knees, Can say a rosary of joy's renewal. Beneath the ancient, patient trees ! Ever-soothing, ever-healing is their paternal voice ; And, made sweet by garden-stillness, my soul can sing, rejoice ! 6x DEFEATED I would that my life were the life of a rose, Mere serenity my brief, brief lot ; And then when the summer is ended for me, Who will know or grieve ? I '11 be forgot ! 62 SUMMER VIGIL The silent, midnight lily-garden is a place Of rest, of dreams exalted, through the moon- white hours. Of Night's great beauty ; but alas ! one hears the sigh Of Springtime's vanished and forgotten little flow'rs ! 63 AUTUMN WINTER'S APPROACH The tea-rose hedge has such young, red leaves; O Summer-blinded, come out and see ! O hear the song of the desert-wind, In praise of rain, of fertility ! 67 SEPTEMBER AFTERGLOW The foothills are nearer (such great, brown beavers ! ) And arroyo and canyon are lakes of lilac mist; The tree-spires rise deeply blue on the mesa ; And the mountains encircle with chain of amethyst ! 68 AUTUMN VICTORIES The geranium-seed, with white wings spread, Is flying far, far, far, — now it at last is free ! The chrysanthemums bold are parading In a triumphal, a final felicity ! 69 DO YOU REMEMBER Do you remember That long-ago September ? The autumn-leaves all wet with rain ? The autumn-daisies in that old lane ? I remember ! Do you remember That desolate November, When autumn-leaves repeat the words Of Love, who died ere flew the birds ? I remember! 70 LIFE'S PATCHWORK Here a hope and there a hope ; Some songs and dreams are there ; Here are fears and there are tears, Failures and a prayer ! Here a flower, there a star ; And here of joy a shred; Here a grief and there a grief; Over-wide the bed ! 71 THE POET AND THE PHILO- SOPHER " O what is so great as The Beauty of Life ? " He asked of The Sage. '' Its loneliness only, Dear Child ; for thy soul 's a lark in a cage ! " 72 OCTOBER AFTERNOON The petals of the flow'r of time, the year, Are falling, falling ; Paler the sun ; The sweeping, unseen winds and mists of fear Are calling, calling, My youth is done ! 73 THE SECRET Last May, I filled the blue hawthorne-jar With fragrant leaves from bush and from tree ; It is the tomb of a girlhood's joy; And yet I call it a pot-pourri ! 74 NOVEMBER Brown, brown, brown is the arroyo, — Hill-encircled, misty, gold ! Little leaves whirl and float in the breeze ; Leopard-alisos gleam through the trees ; Still, still, still is the arroyo ! O allurements manifold ! 75 DISCIPLINED I took my heart and I made me a god ; Home was its name and 't was fair to see ; But life, the despot, as tribute claimed it. I '11 not appeal from the tyranny ! MYRTLE In my garden of bright, tranquil hours, In the gloom of the old live-oak tree. There are shining some small, starry flow'rs. Dimly blue like a mist-covered sea. Their name and their fame is in many a book; And yet hov^r demure, deferential they look ! 77 UNFORGETTING When they dissect my heart and my brain, Do you know what they '11 disclose ? Merely a farewell kiss in the rain And a fragrant brier-rose ! 7« THE LAST ROSE Sunshine pale and the sea-wind Touched my head ; Life was begun. Pink my heart glowed ! Then rains fell, I was dead And summer done ! 79 THE MEADOW-LARK The praise of the shy, little meadow-lark Rings with certitude ; Her tone is all Orient-pearls and gold ; Supreme beatitude ! 80 RESIGNATION Since her young eyes did close in sudden sleep My life 's a cloudy night o*er long, its dewy flowers scentless ; Through starless solitudes I plod alone. They say the dawn will compensate for lone- liness relentless ! 8i SUNSET CLOUDS The lost armadas of my lost years Majestic float to a saffron shore ; And now at dusk they furl their red sails And drift in seas where no breakers roar ! 82 OUTLIVED Deep, deep, deep the love of my life is buried Beneath heavy years of care ; Immortelles nor willows the spot adorn not And no angel watches there ! 83 NOVEMBER'S ROSE-DRIFT The heaped-up petals are sweet, beneath the blight ; All dying, dying That which was a rose ! Mere reminiscence the voice-of-earth to-night And sighing, sighing Of a great repose ! 84 WINTER THE FIRST RAIN O the ground is rose-pink with the wet coral- beads Lost by our old pepper-tree, When she joined in the dance of the wind and the rain ! Pardonable gayety ! 87 WINTER TWILIGHT The Marechal Niel roses hang heavy with rain ; Visitor-robins are singing ; And from the dispirited passion-vine old Yellow-jade lanterns are swinging ! 88 THE REMEMBRANCER Under my window, a green carpet is spread ; No sacred prayer-rug and yet Precious it is : for on that day in Mid-March You planted this mignonette ! 89 A WINTER MORNING O the rain, with her lute and her mandolin, Came last night a-singing ! And the garden made merry, her rosy bloom On the paths a-flinging ! Now vanished the singer j yet come and see The sun-jewels sparkling on grass and tree ! 90 THE PAST The past is a darkened corridor, — Echoing, chilling, haunted By Memory's bats and her dragon's roar; (Horrid with ooze and slime is the floor !) Who is the man not daunted ? 9' TRANSMUTATION When first I heard my Mother sing, The tone was silver, white and fair ! But now the silver all has crept From out her voice and o'er her hair ! 9z IN THE RAINY SEASON Long, long day of winter rains That sob and sob and drip, drip, drip like tears ! Perfect joy such gloom might be, Sweet with roses, melody ! But O the silent, the estranging years ! 93 VALUES The day was a disappointment, A weariness, a sorrow; But gazing at the afterglow Brings courage for the morrow : Personal griefs reduce to proper size. Under the high and tranquil evening skies I 94 ASHES OF ROSES And was this the bright image of my flow'r- decked shrine ? Hollow brass fire discloses ! Desolation surrounds : can I forget my faith And the ashes of roses ? 95 A RAINY SUNDAY Long, long day of tears and silence. Of gloom, of rain ; Someone's day of joy and sun; My day of pain ! Ceaseless drip of sighing palm-tree, Though tears are vain ; But, at dusk, a meadow-lark Sings in the rain ! 96 IN WINTER A perfect rose, all a silvered-pink, Bloomed by my door at morn ; (Life is so sweet, sweet ') I went to claim it at eventide But winds had scattered it far and wide j Silent I stood, forlorn ! (Is life so sweet, sweet ?) 97 CLEAR SKIES The fire of the Christmas-flower is quenched And the earth is bright and sweet with rain; The dragon-fly crawls on top of his leaf; Who shall sulk and who distrust again ? 98 PREJUDICE December asserts my calendar; My garden declares it 's spring ; I 'd rather believe the hyacinths Than any mere printed thing ! 99 READING IN THE GARDEN Along the hard, windswept paths of the gar- den, December's brown leaf-birds fly, noisily fly ; Four Persian kittens like dervishes chase them, Or pause to pretend — who knows what ? Who knows why ? A CHRISTMAS DAWN The bright marvel of the morning star has paled ; All the world is swathed in gloom, in dreams ; But one steadfast little Star-of-Bethlehem In the songless, rain-wet garden gleams ! DUALITY Whenever I step from stone to stone, By the ancient toy-trees from Hokusai's Japan ; Whenever I climb the wishing-bridge, I remember I live on a paper-fan ! But I *ve searched by the pool and by the bamboo, All in vain, for my fan ! Now what would you do ? THE SCHEME ENTIRE If I had a rose plate and a Ming yellow jar; A room full of books, a Korin lacquer-box ; If I had a good cook, a new motor-car, A place out of town, a blue sea with some rocks ; If just trifles like these were mine for a minute, I would love this old world and want to stay in it ! 103 THE READER When all the world is a table of books And the night is never ending; When the big, white moon is a shaded lamp And no guests my time are spending; When essentials like these are arranged for me, How extremely agreeable life will be ! 104 POINTS OF VIEW My Mother derides as junk and old-iron These Japanese sword-guards so dear to my heart ; She states that they cost four tailor-made dresses (Which moths might have eaten !). How cheap is High Art ! TO A YEIZAN COLOR-PRINT Ah ! this is the way I used to look, In the golden days of august Japan, — In five robes of crape, all cherry-bloom ; With an obi wide ; and a full-moon fan! Was I not shy ? 'T was fashionable then ! See my hair: how amazingly modern 'twas dressed ! Look at my hands ! My tiny, red mouth I But the way that I managed to walk was the best ! I remember my gowns were all shockingly dear But I had those I needed (eight hundred and more) ; So I always looked pretty, no matter the hour; And a lady that pretty was never a bore ! 1 06 OLD BOOKS My old, old books that ever wait In proud humility, The emeralds of Cortez great Can never buy of me ! 107 DESTINY There 's never a day, O Love of Mine, There *s never a day for you and me To meet and to rest beneath Life's Pine; Forgot by The Seven Gods are we ! Yet on the same lotus, with closed eyes, We shall dream together in Paradise ! io8 FEBRUARY Deep is my love for the firelit hearth, The chosen book in the quiet room, — Where I may dream all the dreams of life. Content to wait my long night-of-doom ! But there 's a lure in dimpling pools. The scent of wet blossom and bending pine ! When skies come down and touch the hill, The ends of the earth they at last are mine ! Not content am I to gaze then through the panes : But, a king, I 'm out and away when it rains ! 109 MONA LISA (My Black Cat) At life with student-eyes, You look in sweet surprise And silence meek ; When will your schooling end ? When will you condescend With me to speak ? O small Companion of my garden-days, How very sweet are meditation's ways ! PAGANISM O to be a mocking-bird, A mocking-bird, A-singing in the lane ! O to be a deodar, A deodar, A-tossing in the rain ! O to be in tune with life ! O to be in love with life. Aloof from all the pain ! Ill AFTER THE RAIN Out in the vineyard, the larks are calling : " Arise, O Sleeper, arise, arise ! See San Antonio's snow-crown glisten Above your radiant paradise ! The scars, the despairs of summer are gone ; Laughter is better than sorrow ; Arise and behold God's sky and the hills ; Roses for ev'ry to-morrow ! " 1X2 YELLOW TANAGERS The enchanting splendor of old, old Peru In the lemon-tree flashed, one chill day of rain : Yellow tanagers, many miles ofF their course! Will that breath-taking vision e'er come again ? X13 GRAY DAYS Under a sky of gray, flawless jade, Orange-trees blossom, red roses fade And the peacocks scream ; Dreams hurry back from memory's sea; Sunshine subservient now must be To a rainbow gleam ! 14 A LOS ANGELES SUNSET O I saw our Three Mountains at sunset And their snows were a tourmaline fire ! Then they glimmered like opals and faded To dreams, dreams of forgotten desire ! ADEQUATE After the dolorous gloom of The Rains, Red roses of Spring ! Perfectly praised is God's beautiful earth, For meadow-larks sing ! ii6 THE END Good-bye, good-bye To a day of shadowed, rose-sweet hours ; Bitter-sweet charm o' fallen leaf. Good-bye, good-bye To my garden of a thousand flow'rs ! O but the year was brief, brief ! 117 If thy home a garden has not And an old^ old tree ; Whence lifers daily joys can come^ TVise men cannot see, Chen Hao-tzu : 1783 CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U . S . A DEC 23 1911 One copy del. to Cat. Div. DEC 2^ -^ tr LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 018 392 098 4 | LE A I-'- SHADOWS ANB ROSE-DRiF'" BEING lAT'nj-, SO-Ni..^ A LOS ANGELES GARDEN Bxj Olive PercivaT