LIBRARY RETT A PARROT T 1 9Q.0 ClassJiJ t 5 3) Book._iAli?:_LS__ Copyright ]^"_J-11_A CQEIQRIGIIT DEPOSm PRESS OF THE HANSEN COMPANY SAN FRANCISCO n RETTA PARROTT I g 2 o HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING CO. SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA ^^ sw Copyrighted 1920 by Retta Parrott ©C!.A605159 ^;^ LIBRARY WINDOWS Contentsi Page Illustration, "The First Rain" ... 6 The First Rain 7-8 September Sunshine 9-10 Sequoia and Spire 11-12 The Plaza 13-14 Falling Leaves 15-16 Illustration, "A Battle of the Elements" 18 A Battle of the Elements 19-20 A Winter Picture 21-22 A Blue Dusk -3-24 A Mystic Morning 25-26 Swelling Buds 27-28 A Typical Day 29-30 Elms in Bloom 3^-3'^ F''"'tage • 33-34 The Equinoctial Storm 35-36 The Factory Fire 37-38 The Easter Moon 39-4° Winged Seeds 41-42 Looking West 43-44 Young Leaves 45-46 The Rainbow 47-48 A Perfect Day 49-50 June Weather . . . ' 51-52 Summer Clouds 53-54 Evening Breezes 55-56 Illustration, "The Two Winds" ... 58 The Two Winds 59-60 Larger Views 61-62 LIBRARY WINDOWS iForetoorb "1 "1 ERE are twenty-six sonnets from f^ w l the civic center of Sacramento, the 1^ 1^ heartof "The Heart of California." This allows one for each fortnight of the working year which began in the fall of nineteen -nineteen, the dates, how- ever, not being distributed with perfect regularity. The sonnets show the principal changes of the seasons as observed through windows of the City Library from the viewpoint of the reference librarian, with such reflections as naturally arise out of the times and the surroundings. The dates appended are representative rather than absolute, although in most cases not far from the day described, nor from that upon which the sonnet took form. If this little work shall give to any one a tenth part of the pleasure and appreciation of common scenes which the composition of it in home hours has given the writer, its publication will be fully justified. —R.P. LIBRARY WINDOWS James cA. Holden Page Six LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ Cfje JFirsit CSain Page Seven LIBRARY WINDOWS ^"Y^ OW comes the first day of the year V. J j for me, ^ L And heaven responds by sending the first rain: Dust from the trees and cobwebs from the brain Are washed away; the weeks of travel free O'er open road, and mountain trail, and sea, Have helped the mind and body to regain Their wonted vigor, and with might and main Take up the routine of the year to be. What matter that the sky is lowering, Dark with the mottled gray of nimbus clouds. Or that a robe of faded green enshrouds The elms, which wore so rich a dress in spring? The Lord is mindful of impending dearth And sends an early rain to bless the earth. September the First Page Eight n LIBRARY WINDOWS September jg>uns(l)ine Page Nine LIBRARY WINDOWS f ^ 'HROUGHOUT the year there are I I "^ three days and more \j-^ Of sunshine, for each one by cloud obscured; The burning heat of summer is endured, Or else escaped on mountain, or the shore; But when September sun begins to pour Its mellow light through windows, reas- sured. Home-stayers smile; and wanderers are lured Back to the duties wearisome before. And yet it is the radiant summer heat Which puts the sugar in the grape and pear. Colors the peach, and makes the orange bear Its early crop of luscious fruit, and sweet: So, for abundant sunshine, let us lift Praises to God for this most perfect gift. September the Fifth P a ge Ten LIBRARY WINDOWS Sequoia anb ^pire Page Eleven LIBRARY WINDOWS /^ r\IEWED from remotest corner of \ J the room ^^ Through that southeastern window framed in green, Is a symboHcal and lovely scene Made by the figures of two spires which loom Into the sky; the tree seems to assume The height of the cathedral spire, being seen At closer range; but over both serene Rises the shining cross, dispersing gloom. The lifted cross will henceforth bring good cheer — Oh, not a golden one, or such as might Be made from that red-hearted tree, whose height Contests for ages, thousandth year on year. To reach the altitude of that fair spire — 'Twill be the Christ as he is lifted higher! October the Twelfth Page Twelve Page Thirteen LIBRARY WINDOWS eLEAR breathing space close to the city's heart Where children play on ever ver- dant grass And old men rest; where hurrying people pass On the diagonal 'twixt residence and mart Nor pause to read the weather; where the art Of music has its hour, the folk en masse Gathering to sing or listen; where no class Predominates, but each may have a part: This is the plaza. Here before the dawn A year ago, an earnest crowd was drawn To celebrate the first act of world peace. In wistful hope that war might henceforth cease. Long may the plaza be the open place Where loyal citizens speak face to face! November the Eleventh Page Fourteen LIBRARY WINDOWS iFalling JLtabtsi Page Fifteen LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ '^: 'IS Indian Summer, and the yellow leaves Scarce faltering, drop singly into view Against the velvet trunks of elms, which through The glowing eastern window one perceives; Sunshine among the branches interweaves Its soft translucent light of golden hue, Making a mural Claude Lorrain might do, With lines and balance such as Low achieves : Across the park a funeral cortege goes, And in an hour a second one will pass, Bearing two gentle, ripened friends; Fallen, like autumn leaves upon the grass. How delicately nature makes amends For all that might seem harshness at life's close. November the Eighteenth Page Sixteen Page Seventeen LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ James cA, Holden Page Eighteen LIBRARY WINDOWS a Seattle of tfje elements; Page Nineteen s^ LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ Z*"^ "lONDER the barren elm trees writhe V- / I and lash, -V-^ Turn pale and gray through smoky gusts of rain, While copious waters gurgle down the drain; Upon the southern windows raindrops splash In steely bayonets; to north, a flash Ot lightning writes its zigzag on a pane: A rare electric storm has come again Charging all nature with impetuous dash. How still, in contrast, seems the reference room ; A score of readers here in quiet sit. Bent o'er their books in attitudes of ease. Upon no face the slightest touch of gloom : Not strange the fact, when one considers it, That even in battle men have felt great peace. November the Thirtieth Page Twenty Bm LIBRARY WINDOWS a ©inter Picture Page Twenty-one ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS /^ |"\HITE clouds along the blue horizon 11) «'"g ^•^^ A banner of six stripes, while to and fro The idle branches sway; a week ago The last leaf fell, not to be made in spring The sport of impish buds; quite gently swing The lace-embroidered boughs, which lack but snow To make a winter picture, and bestow Completion on the season's offering: This, through the eastern window; yet to move A few feet to the left would turn the scene From wintry barrenness to living green; Magnolia and palm stand up to prove Sunshine, instead of snow, to be the fare Accustomed here, although the elms are bare. December the Sixteenth §^ Page Twenty -two 5^ LIBRARY WINDOWS i^ ai 2?lue ^usJfe Page Twenty-three ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS OMETIMES a cloudy or a foggy day Will bring at dusk those blue lights in the sky, Looking, through windows, as if heaven were nigh; Although without, the scene is dismal gray: The cause must be refraction; or the way The glow from buff electroliers on high And warm tones of the wall, release the eye So it seeks out the azure, there to stay. This is a home for many; gathered here Are those who eat at restaurants, and sleep. Perchance, in some cold room devoid of cheer; They smile when in this place, though there they weep. May be in comfort to their bodies given Their souls can catch a nearer view of hea- ven. December the T^wenty -seventh W§^ Page T w e n t y - f o u r m^ LIBRARY WINDOWS a Mv^tic lEorning Page T w e n t y - f i \' e LIBRARY WINDOWS fy^ ' 'HIS morning a white fog envelops (b '" \f^ The trees and towers; bedims the gaunt outhne Of Pythian Castle; turns to specter fine The death's-head on that medieval hall, Giving the whole new power to appall; Makes ghostly elms their phantom arms entwine; Displays, like seaweed floating in the brine, The fan-like tops of trees, remote and tall: So there are authors here with art to throw Illusive vapor 'round events, and show Things weird, which else were simple verity: Such are a Bulwer-Lytton and a Poe, Who in imagination love to see Familiar things thus wrapped in mystery. January the Thirteeyith Page Twenty-six ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^ ^toeUing 2?uti3S Page Twenty-seven LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^ l'\HY be content in sonnets thus to *•/ I 1 dwell ^"^^ On views seen through the windows of one room; Scant patches of blue sky, and trees which loom Above the sills, softened by buds that swell? The grass grows out of doors, we know full well, And yellow sunshine all the paths illume; While pussy-willows by the river bloom And bluebird notes the coming spring fore- tell. Yet stay! If Helen Keller could but see Against the sky those gently swelling leaves. That early swallow dipping from the eaves. What would she give for such a sight? Shall we Look with unseeing eyes on signs which bring Within close range these harbingers of sprmg January the Twenty-fourth Page Twenty-eight ™^ LIBRARY WINDOWS ™^ an Cppical Pap Page Twenty -nine LIBRARY WINDOWS /* A LITTLE haze of fog or smoke or v /A dust, ^ ^ Though not so much but that the sun shines through; Gray-rimmed the sky and overhead the blue; A zephyr neither cold nor warm, but just Refreshed: this types the many days which thrust Themselves between extremes, and which but few Remark. And should it now occur to you To praise the day? "Too nice," the answer of distrust. And yet, if we but did our part as well As God does His; if all our common days. Free from anxiety, were filled with praise And work: — our faith would all the fear dispel, And great accomplishment would enter in To lives now spoiled by fretfulness and sin. February the Seventh ^^ ^^ Page Thirty LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ Oflmg in 2?loom Page Thirty-one L I B R A R Y W I N D O W S ^■****» OR weeks I've tried that purple ^ "Tl flush to see ^"^ Which writers say o'erspreads the elms in bloom; But at the best, when sunshine floods the room, They only seem a reddish brown to me; I can imagine though, if wholly free To choose the setting— snow, let us assume, With neutral sky — the elm trees plume on plume Would glow with color complementary. It may be that the Lord would sometimes bring To us a touch of beauty or of grace, Could He detach us from the commonplace Of selfish interests to which we cling; What glory from the Rich Young Man would fall Had he but answered to the Master's call! February the Twenty-eighth Page Thirty-two Page Thirty-three s^ LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^^EPARTING clouds have left the I 1 sky serene, O^^ And elms so lately clothed in ruddy brown Have shaken all their blossom-chaff adown Their lichen-covered limbs; the lichen's sheen Is richly bronze, and of a lustrous green In harmony, is the samara gown In which each elm is dressed: Now comes the crown Of all the year, the truit-time long foreseen. The mystery of wedded word and thought Goes on as inconspicuously here As unseen pollen dust with power fraught Changes the garb of elms year after year: And as the sun lights up the shining seeds Occasion will turn words to golden deeds. March the "Tenth Page Thirty-four ™^ LIBRARY WINDOWS Cije <5q[Uinoctial ^torm Page Thirty-five LIBRARY WINDOWS /"AN hour ago the sky was heaven's Nt-X blue *• •* Though flecked by ambient clouds all silver lined, But now an azure spot one scarce can find So quickly have the gray clouds driven through From south to north; from these will brew The equinoctial storm: moisture and wind Are stirring ferment, and their force com- bined Will serve to clothe the earth in verdure new. As suddenly, and o'er a sky as fair, The war clouds swept the world, with tumult fraught; Fierce strugglings, the ferment of unrest. Settling at last to grayness — not despair — For when a vision of the coming day is caught The purpose of the storm is manifest. March the Twenty-first •sm Page Thirty-six Page Thirty-seven ■^m LIBRARY WINDOWS "1 "I OW calm and peaceful seems the ^ r I sky tonight! ^ •• Just so another eve Polaris yearned From his fixed seat, but eyes that north- ward turned Were met with clouds of smoke, and then the light Of mounting flames, and suddenly a bright And awful burst of licking tongues, dis- cerned Before the sound was heard of tanks which burned With loud explosion, scattering affright. Of that great fire the cause is still unknown. Although a year has passed away since then — Spontaneous combustion, say some men: It may have been a torch by coward thrown, For so sons of perdition plot to make A hell on earth for their own father's sake. March the Twenty -seventh. i^^ Patie Thirty-eight I> I P3 R A R Y WINDOWS Clje e as(ter Moon ^ Page Thirty-nine m LIBRARY WINDOWS y^ ^ISES the moon which brings the ( 1^ Easter nigh! ••^ It beams in wondrous beauty as of old On that still Wednesday — with its tale un- told— In passion week, ere Jesus was to die: Against the purple background of the sky The elms appear in drapings manifold; Their silken seeds, like stitches of dull gold. Wrought in a web of rich embroidery. Easter, the ornate season, comes in dress Of varied hues, a colorful array. The vesture of the springtime fresh and gay; But lilies now the bright blooms dispossess As fitter emblems of the risen Lord; Who shines, like yon fair moon, by earth adored. March the Thirty-first Page Forty LIBRARY WINDOWS ITT l©iugeb ^tth^ Pase Forty-one ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^ OF late the air is full of flying things: Home-making linnets, busy with romance, New-risen butterflies that flit and glance, And downy elm seeds trying out their wings; Quite frequently is heard the whirr which brings The airplane near, and searching the ex- panse From side to side, we note the swift ad- vance Of man-made bird which through the ether sings: The task of these has been to practice war From the adjacent camp of Mather Field; But now, most happily, war measures yield To arts of peace, and monster planes fly o'er The land, depositing their human freight And friendly letters; seeds of love for hate. April the Fourteenth Page Forty-two ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS S^ Hooking Wtit Page Forty-three LIBRARY WINDOWS ECAUSE the earth is round, when one arrives At utmost western land, the Orient Confronts. View here a scene significant Through that west window; back of it there thrives A bright ailanthus tree, an immigrant From the Celestial Empire; all aslant Throughout the undulating limbs there drives Smoke from a Chinese laundry, which sur- vives Among the buildings of the civic plant: But, dimly seen as background to the whole, There stands the Labor Temple, firm and strong; Will it be equal to the task which long Has exercised it, practicing control? A prayer must rise from every sincere heart That labor will with grace perform its part. April the Twenty-fifth Page Forty-four ^#^ LIBRARY WINDOWS joung Heabes; Page Forty-five LIBRARY WINDOWS /^"' "^ROM the main floor no plot o\ "11 solid ground ^^ Is visible to one who sits or stands Except in this small office, which commands A full view of the park; but here abound People, and lawns, and flowers: 'round and 'round The barefoot children sport in happy bands Beneath the elms, which laugh and clap their hands So merry do they feel in leaves new-found. There is a time to dance, the Preacher saith, And for these boys and girls the time is ripe; They need no music but the warbler's pipe: For the old men on benches, short of breath, The time is past; but they have danced and sung On other May-days when the leaves were young. May the First Page Forty-six LIBRARY WINDOWS Cfje dtamtjoto Pag-e Forty-seven LIBRARY WINDOWS /^ N March, one evening, eyes were g^ ^A raised to scan ^•*--^ The floating clouds which graced the sky, when lo! Two segments of an iridescent bow Appeared at windows wide apart; their span Would over-arch the City Hall, whose plan Involves a tower high, with clocks (which go At intervals). The government below, Commission formed, has been since it be- gan Somewhat experimental, and this hour It stands in question: will it fade away? Or will the tried commissioner, returned today Bring to the whole such harmony and power That like the bow with varied bands in one, 'Twill signalize a brighter time begun? May the Fifteenth Page Forty-ei«ht LIBRARY WINDOWS ^m B Perfect J^ap Page Forty-nine LIBRARY WINDOWS i^ fV? "'HESE days are all so beautiful, I I "^ what could \|-^ The Heavenly Father do to furnish one Of such surpassing merit, that when done, It might be called a perfect day? He would Not have to make a bluer sky, nor should The breeze which checks the warm rays o\ the sun Be fresher: had the dust which has begun To dim the luster of the summer wood. Been by an evening shower washed away. Then this one might have been a perfect day. Last month there were such clean-washed days, with all The glory of the fleeing cloud, the freshened breeze. The rich and glossy leafage of the trees; Unlauded they, until beyond recall! June the Second Page Fifty s^ LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^ June l©eatf)er Page Fifty-one LIBRARY WINDOWS /"AS though He must have heard the y/ \ wish of one L Jk Who longed to see a perfect day and name It such while present — first of all there came A week of clouds with intermittent sun; And then, before the dullness had begun To be monotonous, a shower; the same A second night; straightway the days be- came For half a week all perfect, every one A model of its kind: the first had white And shining clouds which flew like messen- gers Across the sky; upon the next all light And still they hung, as if loath to disperse. Trying the earth, like Lowell's sky in June; Today is cloudless, heaven and earth in tune. June the 'Tenth S^ Page Fifty-two ■^ LIBRARY WINDOWS .Rummer Cloubg Page Fifty- thr. LIBRARY WINDOWS f >l 'HESE clouds came trooping through I I "^ the Golden Gate \§^ But yesterday, in veils of fog dis- guised; And now, like Raphael's angels visualized, They mount and soar, triumphant and elate: The cirro-cumuli, all animate Like tumbling cherubs come, well super- vised By stately clouds, with forms etherealized, Who fly like seraphs, watchful and sedate. True ministering angels, they all bear Gifts for the valley in their shining hands, They scatter moisture o'er the thirsty lands. And give a softness to the heated air: They drop no showers, those rarely come at all When June is past, till the first rain in fall. Ju/y the Eleventh W^ Page Fifty-four LIBRARY WINDOWS 'm ^Cbening 2?ree^esi Page Fifty-fiv( LIBRARY WINDOWS />• 'HESE clouds came trooping through I I "^ the Golden Gate \|-^ But yesterday, in veils of fog dis- guised; And now, like Raphael's angels visualized, They mount and soar, triumphant and elate: The cirro-cumuli, all animate Like tumbling cherubs come, well super- vised By stately clouds, with forms etherealized, Who fly like seraphs, watchful and sedate. True ministering angels, they all bear Gifts for the valley in their shining hands, They scatter moisture o'er the thirsty lands. And give a softness to the heated air: They drop no showers, those rarely come at all When June is past, till the first rain in fall. July the Eleventh §^ Page Fifty-four "^m LIBRARY WINDOWS <£tienmg 2?ree^es! Page Fifty-five ^^ LIBRARY WINDOWS /^ T matters not how sultry is the heat /I ^1 Of noonday, when humidity hangs V^y low And trails upon the ground; at evening blow The breezes from the south, fresh and re- plete With cooling powers; they change the air effete Which gathers where the people come and go Or sit and read; new vigor they bestow, With promise of a night's repose complete: This ebb and flow of atmospheric tides Between our inland valley and the sea, Functions with pleasing regularity O'er waterways where the Coast Range divides; And when the heat of noontide ebbs away. Sea breezes through the open windows play. July the Twenty-fijth Page Fifty -six Page Fifty-seven Pasre Fifty-eiKht n LIBRARY WINDOWS Cfje Cltjo Winh& Page Fifty-nine LIBRARY WINDOWS OUR South Wind is a buxom ma- tron, young And full of hope; the rain is in her hair. And from her arms blessings beyond com- pare Over expectant hills and vales are flung: The wild locks of the North Wind have been wrung Free from all moisture; she is old and spare, Hungry and peevish from exposure where She climbed the Siskiyous, on border hung. When South Wind lays her cheek against the pane The boughs out yonder swing a deep bye- low; But when wind from the north begins to blow, And scratch with sandy fingers, and com- plain. The branches seem all withered and inane; The old witch from the north torments them so. August the Fifth Page Sixty ^m LIBRARY WINDOWS ^^ Itarger ©ietojf Page Sixty-one LIBRARY WINDOWS /^ l"\ITH eyes just lightly closed, but / I I vision clear ^"^^y Directed through the windows of the soul, Vacation pictures which embrace the whole Of California's length and breadth appear: The snow-crowned Shasta, lone, but un- austere; Jewelled Tahoe, sparkling in ample bowl; Fair Tissaack in rosy aureole. And twinkling cities from Mount Lowe so sheer; The creeping waves on Coronado's sand. And breakers on the coast of Monterey; The crimson clouds of San Francisco Bay. Rare panorama of our sunset land! What blame if, from the glimmer of the heat. One's eyes are closed for visions fresh, though fleet? August the Twelfth Page Sixty-two ^^"^m:^"