A Farewell to Youth

In dreams I close my eyes but yet I see
A land of daffodils across the sea.
A land where oft a halcyon childhood day
I romped and roved in daisied fields at play.

Oh I yearn to return in time once more
To that isle of meadow and long, white shore.
To lie beneath a chestnut tree with you,
And gather crocuses and bluebells, too.

And then to trip along a primrosed lane
O’erhung by branches, hid from sun and rain,
That wends its merry way o’er down and dale,
To your cottage in an enchanted vale.

To lie down and sleep, perchance to dream
Of nymphs and naiads frolicking in the stream.
To wake next morn when the sun peeps through
Old Jack Frost’s fingers, all icy and blue.

And then to find a sprig of mistletoe,
And you, my love, before the fire’s glow.
What happy times we spent in love and play
Till the sun set on a most glorious day.

Though years shall pass and youth and passions fade
But not the mem’ry of that enchanted glade.
But, alas, I wake from my reverie
Realize it’s only a dream of poesy.

Blooms of my youth are all that’s left to me
Which I weave into a floral tapestry.
Now I’ve returned to Siam’s sun-drenched shore
And the isle of my youth is lost, evermore.