The Vagabond and Other Poems from Punch by R. C. Lehmann
page 12 of 84 (14%)
page 12 of 84 (14%)
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Dancing in airy rapture o'er the ground--
All these with that faint sigh are made to be Man's breath upon a glass, a mortal memory. Then from the silent room where late she played, Setting a steady course toward the light, Swifter than thistledown the little shade, Reft from the nooks that she had made her own And from the love that sheltered, fared alone Forth through the gloomy spaces of the night, Until at last she lit before the gate Where all the suppliant shades must stand and wait. Grim Cerberus, the foiler of the dead, Keeping his everlasting vigil there In deep-mouthed wrath Athwart the rocky path, Did at her coming raise his triple head And lift his bristling hair; But when he saw our tender little maid Forlorn, but unafraid, He blinked his flaming eyes and ceased to frown, And, fawning on her, smoothed his shaggy crest, Composed his savage limbs and settled down With ears laid back and all his care at rest; And so with kindly aspect beckoned in The little playmate of his earthly kin. For often she had tugged old Rollo's mane, And often Lufra felt the loving check |
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