Exile - Part 2
A LFRED .
I wish I were at home; I hate the sea,
Where all day long you see no boys, and sand
Is all you have to play in.
I DA .
But you swim,
And go out in the boat, and once you went
With father in a yacht, and stayed all night,
And caught great loads of fish.
A LFRED .
I want to be
Down in the town where all the men are gone,
And have the boys to play with, but out here
You only see the water — just naught to me —
And gather pebbles girl-like on the beach,
And swim but once a day — a mere half-hour.
I DA .
I like to see the waves roll far away,
And watch the wind make them look dark, and how
The little, clean, slim fish shoot here and there,
And the bright ripples break upon the shore.
A LFRED .
I understand that girls may like such things,
In which I see no fun. I never know
What makes you glad, except you want me near,
And often kiss me out of time.
I DA .
Oh — oh —
You boys have no conceit. I think it time
For me to go back home.
A LFRED .
No, no, you must not,
And leave me here alone. We can but talk,
There's nothing else to do, and then you know
One cannot talk with one's mere self.
I DA .
Quite well;
I sat the other day out in the wood
Alone for two long hours, and all the time
I talked with persons that seemed in my mind,
And they were beautiful.
A LFRED .
You mean you thought;
You make my head ache like the school-master,
Who tells us we must think, and so be good;
But I am sure he never thinks, or he
Would hardly scold the wrong boy as he does.
I DA .
You are just dull; it was not thought at all,
It was not like addition, but a dream
Such as you have at night, save that you wake.
A LFRED .
And will you tell me what your dream was like?
I little understand you when you speak,
And say these curious things, but still I like it,
And my head sounds as though a bee shut up
Sang in my brain, and I knew what it said.
I DA .
But you must not break in and laugh;
That makes me cry; I love what my dreams show,
And you are cruel like most boys.
A LFRED .
Nay, cease;
You know I never laugh at you; I laugh
Because the story makes me, and you cry
When most I love you; for somehow you seem
So good when you go on and talk.
I DA .
Well, then,
I will begin. You know the wood I mean —
You cross the hill, and in the hollow there
The trees stand thickest, and all is so still,
You only hear the waters washing faint
And far away. The roses there grow wild,
And in one spot the thick, wild grape-vines grow,
And the sweet odorous roses climb high up,
And you can sit within a summer-house
The good God made.
A LFRED .
I know the very place;
Where we went picnicking, and father said,
If he had money, he would buy the ground,
And build.
I DA .
I sat there for awhile and sang,
And then I know not how, but this I saw —
The long green grasses swayed, and rose, and swayed,
And all the wild flowers I could see; I knew
That there was little wind, for the tall aspen
Scarce showed the silver of its trembling leaves.
So I grew still, and watched what I could see.
A LFRED .
And what was that? You take so long to tell
What I should say in half the time.
I DA .
At last
Out from the spires of grass, and all the flowers,
I cannot tell you how, a fairy leapt,
And soon the air was changed, a golden gloam
Came in its stead, and on their swiftest wings
They flew and sought a level spot — just where
The mossy old stump stands. I saw them plain,
The fairies of the grass were long slim things,
With queer peaked faces, and long golden wings
They folded round them like a dress of light,
And when they sang, you heard a small soft sound
That was right sharp in sweetness; but the roses —
From them there came small lady-like sweet forms
That were all fire, — but not the fire that burns, —
A rosy gentle flame; they flew in curves,
And sang a song that makes me love you better;
But the buttercups would have been joy to you,
For they were stout, and clothed in shining gold,
And seemed to lord it everywhere so that
The violets, so thin you hardly saw them,
Nor knew them from the air, scampered away
When the gold tyrants came; but night would come
Before I told you all.
A LFRED .
What did they there?
I DA .
I cannot tell; I heard their voices small,
And they flew round me so that — as, at night
When you put head beneath the coverlet,
You see the fire and color interweave —
Their forms of many hues blended and mixed
And fell apart, a shifting play of flames,
Red, blue, and gold, and all so full of glee
That now my heart is glad to think upon it.
I sat quite still, and tried to stop my breath,
Till I began to weep, and then I laughed, —
And at the sound, they vanished, one and all.
A LFRED .
That is a pretty tale; you must have slept
And dreamed.
I DA .
If you go on as you do often,
I shall be sorry that I told you.
A LFRED .
You say
You saw, and were awake? Hard to believe;
Why do I never have such luck as you?
But then I often find things when I walk,
And you find nothing.
I DA .
Well, then, be content.
A LFRED .
But do you think the fairies really are,
And live within the grass and every flower?
Why then they die whenever flowers are plucked;
You cannot make me think that such things are,
I never saw one, and you only dreamed.
I DA .
You are too hard; why do you make me speak,
And tell you things, if you will treat me so?
A LFRED .
There, now, you cry, and yet I meant no harm.
Come, let me kiss you on your forehead white;
So, you smile through your tears. I understand
But little how you girls are made or think;
I saw you watch the other day awhile
The blood-red splashes left upon the sea
When the great sun went down; but father came
And brought the marbles, so I turned away;
But you and mother sat till the dull gray
Came on the sky, and the big ball of fire
Was gone, and you refused to play. Now say
What did you see?
I DA .
Why, you must look and learn;
The little waves seemed all to clap their hands
When a red ray went through them, and the clouds
Floated and swept to bathe them in the glow
As if they wished to die on the sun's breast;
And he shed forth his light intent to give
All that he had to make them glad, as I
Would do for you when you are kind to me.
A LFRED .
Well, maybe I shall know when I am grown.
Now let us walk down to the beach, and play
At house-building, with me for architect,
And you shall order what you want; run, run.
I DA .
But I shall want a castle old, with towers
All clad with dark-green ivy-leaves, and windows
With diamond panes, besides a chapel grave
Where I can go alone, and softly pray.
A LFRED .
Small use in that; you shall receive from me
A nobler gift, — a lofty brown-stone front,
With basement for the servants, and within
The walls well painted, and with mirrors tall
In parlor; nobody cares for castles now.
I DA .
It shall be as you wish; but see the waves,
How little sparks of silver fire bestud them,
And from the oars the fiery water falls,
And far away the distant blue shore lies
Like an unmoving mist.
A LFRED .
Come on and play.
Here is the sand that reaches up the hill,
And we can build our houses as we list.
Come on and play, — what are you gazing at?
I DA .
It is the tall white stranger we saw before,
The silent man of sombre mien and garb,
With large, dark eyes that seemed to wish to weep,
And face white as mamma's sweet hand. You know
He stopped and watched us while we were at play,
Nor said a word, but seemed somehow so sad
That I felt I should like to speak, but then
He was so still and cold, I shook for fear.
A LFRED .
I would not mind; he will not trouble us;
We can, you know, hit him with some small stone
And then run straight for home, for it is time,
If we shall get our dinner waiting for us.
I wish I were at home; I hate the sea,
Where all day long you see no boys, and sand
Is all you have to play in.
I DA .
But you swim,
And go out in the boat, and once you went
With father in a yacht, and stayed all night,
And caught great loads of fish.
A LFRED .
I want to be
Down in the town where all the men are gone,
And have the boys to play with, but out here
You only see the water — just naught to me —
And gather pebbles girl-like on the beach,
And swim but once a day — a mere half-hour.
I DA .
I like to see the waves roll far away,
And watch the wind make them look dark, and how
The little, clean, slim fish shoot here and there,
And the bright ripples break upon the shore.
A LFRED .
I understand that girls may like such things,
In which I see no fun. I never know
What makes you glad, except you want me near,
And often kiss me out of time.
I DA .
Oh — oh —
You boys have no conceit. I think it time
For me to go back home.
A LFRED .
No, no, you must not,
And leave me here alone. We can but talk,
There's nothing else to do, and then you know
One cannot talk with one's mere self.
I DA .
Quite well;
I sat the other day out in the wood
Alone for two long hours, and all the time
I talked with persons that seemed in my mind,
And they were beautiful.
A LFRED .
You mean you thought;
You make my head ache like the school-master,
Who tells us we must think, and so be good;
But I am sure he never thinks, or he
Would hardly scold the wrong boy as he does.
I DA .
You are just dull; it was not thought at all,
It was not like addition, but a dream
Such as you have at night, save that you wake.
A LFRED .
And will you tell me what your dream was like?
I little understand you when you speak,
And say these curious things, but still I like it,
And my head sounds as though a bee shut up
Sang in my brain, and I knew what it said.
I DA .
But you must not break in and laugh;
That makes me cry; I love what my dreams show,
And you are cruel like most boys.
A LFRED .
Nay, cease;
You know I never laugh at you; I laugh
Because the story makes me, and you cry
When most I love you; for somehow you seem
So good when you go on and talk.
I DA .
Well, then,
I will begin. You know the wood I mean —
You cross the hill, and in the hollow there
The trees stand thickest, and all is so still,
You only hear the waters washing faint
And far away. The roses there grow wild,
And in one spot the thick, wild grape-vines grow,
And the sweet odorous roses climb high up,
And you can sit within a summer-house
The good God made.
A LFRED .
I know the very place;
Where we went picnicking, and father said,
If he had money, he would buy the ground,
And build.
I DA .
I sat there for awhile and sang,
And then I know not how, but this I saw —
The long green grasses swayed, and rose, and swayed,
And all the wild flowers I could see; I knew
That there was little wind, for the tall aspen
Scarce showed the silver of its trembling leaves.
So I grew still, and watched what I could see.
A LFRED .
And what was that? You take so long to tell
What I should say in half the time.
I DA .
At last
Out from the spires of grass, and all the flowers,
I cannot tell you how, a fairy leapt,
And soon the air was changed, a golden gloam
Came in its stead, and on their swiftest wings
They flew and sought a level spot — just where
The mossy old stump stands. I saw them plain,
The fairies of the grass were long slim things,
With queer peaked faces, and long golden wings
They folded round them like a dress of light,
And when they sang, you heard a small soft sound
That was right sharp in sweetness; but the roses —
From them there came small lady-like sweet forms
That were all fire, — but not the fire that burns, —
A rosy gentle flame; they flew in curves,
And sang a song that makes me love you better;
But the buttercups would have been joy to you,
For they were stout, and clothed in shining gold,
And seemed to lord it everywhere so that
The violets, so thin you hardly saw them,
Nor knew them from the air, scampered away
When the gold tyrants came; but night would come
Before I told you all.
A LFRED .
What did they there?
I DA .
I cannot tell; I heard their voices small,
And they flew round me so that — as, at night
When you put head beneath the coverlet,
You see the fire and color interweave —
Their forms of many hues blended and mixed
And fell apart, a shifting play of flames,
Red, blue, and gold, and all so full of glee
That now my heart is glad to think upon it.
I sat quite still, and tried to stop my breath,
Till I began to weep, and then I laughed, —
And at the sound, they vanished, one and all.
A LFRED .
That is a pretty tale; you must have slept
And dreamed.
I DA .
If you go on as you do often,
I shall be sorry that I told you.
A LFRED .
You say
You saw, and were awake? Hard to believe;
Why do I never have such luck as you?
But then I often find things when I walk,
And you find nothing.
I DA .
Well, then, be content.
A LFRED .
But do you think the fairies really are,
And live within the grass and every flower?
Why then they die whenever flowers are plucked;
You cannot make me think that such things are,
I never saw one, and you only dreamed.
I DA .
You are too hard; why do you make me speak,
And tell you things, if you will treat me so?
A LFRED .
There, now, you cry, and yet I meant no harm.
Come, let me kiss you on your forehead white;
So, you smile through your tears. I understand
But little how you girls are made or think;
I saw you watch the other day awhile
The blood-red splashes left upon the sea
When the great sun went down; but father came
And brought the marbles, so I turned away;
But you and mother sat till the dull gray
Came on the sky, and the big ball of fire
Was gone, and you refused to play. Now say
What did you see?
I DA .
Why, you must look and learn;
The little waves seemed all to clap their hands
When a red ray went through them, and the clouds
Floated and swept to bathe them in the glow
As if they wished to die on the sun's breast;
And he shed forth his light intent to give
All that he had to make them glad, as I
Would do for you when you are kind to me.
A LFRED .
Well, maybe I shall know when I am grown.
Now let us walk down to the beach, and play
At house-building, with me for architect,
And you shall order what you want; run, run.
I DA .
But I shall want a castle old, with towers
All clad with dark-green ivy-leaves, and windows
With diamond panes, besides a chapel grave
Where I can go alone, and softly pray.
A LFRED .
Small use in that; you shall receive from me
A nobler gift, — a lofty brown-stone front,
With basement for the servants, and within
The walls well painted, and with mirrors tall
In parlor; nobody cares for castles now.
I DA .
It shall be as you wish; but see the waves,
How little sparks of silver fire bestud them,
And from the oars the fiery water falls,
And far away the distant blue shore lies
Like an unmoving mist.
A LFRED .
Come on and play.
Here is the sand that reaches up the hill,
And we can build our houses as we list.
Come on and play, — what are you gazing at?
I DA .
It is the tall white stranger we saw before,
The silent man of sombre mien and garb,
With large, dark eyes that seemed to wish to weep,
And face white as mamma's sweet hand. You know
He stopped and watched us while we were at play,
Nor said a word, but seemed somehow so sad
That I felt I should like to speak, but then
He was so still and cold, I shook for fear.
A LFRED .
I would not mind; he will not trouble us;
We can, you know, hit him with some small stone
And then run straight for home, for it is time,
If we shall get our dinner waiting for us.
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