m IPS 3515 E77 C3 1915 iCopy 1 Cansona Hmorosa By Harold Heksey. 1915 Privately Peintbd 100 Copies Printed and Type Distributed. Gift M CANZONA AMOROSA Autumn. Is 1- O I had one glimpse of Autumn's eyes, ^ One glimpse and that was all, "^ Just chance to look with swift surprise sr And hear her tender call. '^ I loitered near her heart a day, A day I loitered near, But then she laughed and turned away And left the lonely year. And ah! I heard her tender breath Draw fast and then draw faster, Her limbs and lips grew cold as death And Winter was our master. Winter. 2. Many days have passed since we met, tj Many more shall pass ere I forget, Many hours of unrest have now gone And my heart is yet silent of song. 3. Earth! Air! Waterl Fire! Come back into my soul again, Come back, come back, ere my desire Flees and I return to men. I linger near the fresh green earth, I linger near, I linger near. And listen to the sounds of mirth And wonder why I've but a tear. I roam within the country air, I wander o'er the templed hills, And ponder why the fields aren't fair And why my heart no longer thrills. I've baked beneath the sun's hot fire. And roamed beneath the woodland shade, I've searched to find my heart's desire And only found the grave it made. CANZONA AMOROSA The flowers that were rich and rare, That sprung" up from the land, Frail flowers that I found so fair, Now wither in my hand; The woods I found so cool and still. The grass so soit and green. The splendor of the haunted hi]], The stillness all serene; The soothing- music of the stream, The voices of the birds, Have vanished in a mystic dream To memories of words. 5- The earth is shedding" all its summer bloom, The skies are clearer and the fields grow bare, Winter's here and every flower's doom Is now foretold by sharpness of the air. The winter winds they sigh, they sigh. The winter winds are crisper. The breezes raise a lonely cry And in the branches whisper. The clouds race faster through the heaven's blue, Their journey's are less gay and less serene, The meadows merge into the strangest hue, A mixture of deep brown and lightest green. One hears the bird's swift fleeing overhead. The farewell call and rush of flapping wings; I've hoped in vain . . . Summer and Autumn are dead . . "They're dead, they're dead," each flower and leaflet sings. The winter winds they sigh, they sigh— The winter winds are crisper; The breezes raise a lonely cry And in the branches whisper. CANZONA AMOROSA 6. I have waited and watched in wonder, I've run and I've romped in the rain, I have laughed with the mighty thunder .... But ah, shall I smile again? I have heard the raindrops falling And beat at the window pane, I have answered the Summer's calling But ah, shall I smile again? 7. From my small window I can see The skeleton of every tree Now bleak and cold against the sky; They quiver as the winds blow by. How lorn all looks! How sad appear The closing months of every year! I hear the sleigh bells through the night And winter birds in hurried flight. I huddle near the blazing fire And try to quench my heart's desire For Summer's happy carefree tale: Instead I hear the Winter's wail. 8. Spring. CANZONAAMOROSA t She Is Mine. 9. Shall I tell how I found my lost love in the hills? How we met where the rain gflistened brig"ht on the trees? Now my feet do not g'o as my fancy so wills Nor ray mind chang"e as fast as the breath of the breeze. No, I'll tell of the stream, of the woods, of the days, How they look to a lover once loved by a maid Who came back with her laugh and her tender, sweet ways, And who met her beloved in the smile of the shade. 10. 1 The woods that once appeared so dark and drear I Now seem a maze of every tinge of green; The blackness that I once turned from in fear Now seems a bower filled with calm serene. The mountains towering against the sky Smile on my fleeting sadness and the stream That once to me voiced but an endless sigh Now sings a song, the knell of my dead dream. \ The winding road invites me, fields await, The birds brush by my shoulder with their song . . . And I . . . . why I laugh back at bitter fate And marvel at so strange a thing as wrong! CANZONA AMOROSA 11. I laug-h and the wild woods wonder, I call and the mountains thunder "We are one, we are one, we are one." 12. The fresh young- buds now blossom free. The buds I bring to her, Soft buds that seem to say to me, "See how we cling to her." The birds that chirp among the trees All seem to wing to her. And every breath of springtime breeze Doth only softly sing to her. 13. Summer {and ever after). I took the heart that panted to be mine And looked in eyes that mirrored past unrest, And with a kiss made all our love divine. Then hand in hand we sank into the west. ^