TODAY AND TOMORROW CHARLES HANSON TOWNE .mmm. m^mm i;**a II 'M fcw AfHM Class Book., >4' B Copightl^" llL COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. Today and Tomorrow By Charles Hanson Towne New York George H. Doran Company » * Copyright, 1916, By GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY / fOjl MAR 16 1916 ©CLA427281 ^ ========= ^ To MY FRIEND MRS. FREDERIC J. FAULKS .^ (Theodosia Garrison) For the privilege of reprinting the poems included in this volume, the author thanks the editors of McClure's, Harper's Magazine, The Century, Everybody's, The North American Review, Munsey's, The Smart Set, The Book- man, Collier's, Lippincott's, Puck, Harper's Weekly, Poetry, The Designer, The Craftsman, The New York Sun, The New York Tribune, and the Youth's Companion. \ CONTENTS CONTENTS Page Beauty , 13 *War Tidings 20 ^To My Country 22 To William Watson 23 On the Sinking of the Lusitania .... 25 The Little People 27 The Shot 30 Silence 32 After Hearing Tschaikowsky 33 The Parting of the Ways 36 A Ballad of Love in London 38 Baboon 41 A Woman of the Streets 44 City Roofs 46 The Little Street Where She Died ... 48 Vision 50 The Children in the Corridors .... 53 Mysteries 57 After 58 Risen Indeed! 59 Spring Nights 60 The Lover 61 At a The Dansant 62 In an Old Cafe 64 Supreme Moments 65 [ix] CONTENTS Page Love Can Die 66 On First Looking into the Manuscript of Endymion 67 In a Picture-Gallery 69 Assunta 71 Love's Silences 74 Old Johnny Valentine 76 The Quarrel 79 Art 81 The Quiet Years 82 To a Certain Little Boy 83 A Song While Loving 84 One of the Predestined 86 Take Thou the Rose 87 Retreat 88 The Prison 90 Racing with the Rain 91 The Victors 96 [X] TODAY AND TOMORROW TODAY AND TOMORROW w BEAUTY (For Nellie Flagg) HEN I am dead, and hidden in the ground, I know that after lonely days of sleep I shall grow weary of my dreamless ease, And stir the grass above me; long to lift My narrow roof sealed with white crocuses, And walk again upon the lovely earth. I know that I shall say to the Lord God, "Let me behold once more the flowery Spring, The jocund April running through the world,"— (For it will be in April when I rouse With all reviving things that softly stir), " Before I venture to the gates of heaven. I pine for unforgotten loveliness, I sicken for the beauty that I knew In youth and age. Let them be mine again ! " TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) A ND then I know that suddenly mine eyes Shall see the splendor of the dawn; shall see A halcyon morning shine on that same shore Where as a child I watched the pomp of day March across distant barricades of cloud, And storm the very ramparts of the world. I shall see hills emerge from the pale mist, Their velvet wonder crowned with caps of snow, And I shall marvel at them as of old. I shall see rivers winding through the meads. Long silver serpents hunting for the sea; And on their banks the blue forget-me-nots. Half hidden in the grass that covered me. I shall read glimmering gospels in the book Of April; deathless legends in the sun; Psalms that the golden season sings for- ever; TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) Green litanies and strangely visible prayers Writ and embroidered on the cloth of Spring. O, once again the antique page shall open, The missal crowded with a curious scroll, A new enchantment wrought of the old flowers. And I shall praise again the miracle Of beauty — beauty far too great to bear. T II HE face of the Beloved, who forgets? It grows in splendor and light when we are gone; Absent, its worth increases. Even so The earth takes on new wonder when we die. And we remember special sanctities, Subtle delights that, living, we forgot: — Color, and tone, and mood; some excel- lence Of almost unperceived contour; some Elusive loveliness, still lovelier TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) Because it is, yet is not; something lost Between high rapture and Love's deep de- spair. O golden sunset, gone ere we can say To the friend near us, " See that fringe of cloud, Those galleons of glory in the West, The furnace fires that burn the world's far rim!" He turns, astonished, and the dream is gone. And nevermore appears to him or me With just that flush of wonder, just that form Of dappled cloud. So I have seen a road In the lush Summer, heavy with the heat. Shadowed by boughs that wilted in the sun, Beyond all naming beautiful in the way It coiled and twisted through the country- side. One instant — and the shadows changed; a bird, [Te] TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) And then another, bathed in swirls of dust; A wagon rolled in sight; and as I moved I lost the moment's rapture. Nothing remains Ever the same. The trees are laced to- night Against the sky ; tomorrow they will be Eager with one more leaf, and the young moon, A few hours older, will be climbing through The filmy texture in another light, And tufted smoke will be the border when I look once more upon the pale design. Nothing is quite the same. Therefore I know My brief delay upon the beautiful earth Is not enough. Haunted with loveliness, How can I fare away to other heavens. Missing innumerable heavens here? For April is the same — yet never the same; And Autumn never painted two gold leaves TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) The eye could match. White hills against the sky- Repeat their wonder through the Winter days, And yet the clouds behind them lift and break Till the heart marvels at the shifting moods Of cold magnificence and dignity. Ah! we could watch forever the phantom rain, And never see the ghostly army come With the same shining helmets on their heads. New songs would be in the wind though the wind sang Forever; and new anthems in the sea, New gestures in the waves, and various glints Upon the tumbled wheat. There is no hour When the old wonder is not strangely new. [i8] TODAY AND TOMORROW BEAUTY (continued) III ^HEREFORE I know, when I have fallen ■■* asleep, I shall awaken, hungry for the lost Intangible beauty of the glowing earth. And God will give me back the Spring again, That I may read new meanings in the flowers. Evoke new glory from the sudden leaf. And haunt the heart of April for my joy. I know that I have only tasted Life, And Life is Beauty — Beauty too great to bear In one brief pilgrimage upon the earth. [19] TODAY AND TOMORROW WAR TIDINGS (1914) TN a still, curtained room there came to me Rumors of strife ; tidings from oversea Of conflict ; the swift, flashing word that Peace had ceased to be. TN a safe city, where the steady roar Of traffic thundered, came a voice that bore News unbelievable of the wild hosts of War. FN a still room! In a safe city! — here ^ Only the echo comes, but strangely clear. What of the actual horror, what of the actual tear! IT^OR in my shelter I shuddered when I knew ■■■ That men accomplished desperate deeds and slew Their brothers on the battleground. Such things men dare to do! TODAY AND TOMORROW WAR TIDINGS (continued) T THOUGHT of wasted harvests of gold grain, Lost fields of plenty, drenched in the soft rain — And I thought of a reaped harvest of unutter- able pain. T THOUGHT of the loud clashing of the sword. The sound of guns and cannon in accord; I thought of a king and his inexorable word. TN a still room, " It cannot be! " I said. " I will awaken and the dream be fled." (But I heard the weeping of widows over the lonely dead.) npHOUGH I was far away and safe and still, The distant sabres stabbed me. "Thus men kiU," I said. " The smoke of battle hides a cross upon a hill ! " [21] o TODAY AND TOMORROW TO MY COUNTRY (1914) NE told me he had heard it whispered: "Lo! The hour has come when Europe, des- perate With sudden war and terrible swift hate, Rocks like a reed beneath the mighty blow. Therefore shall we, in this, her time of woe, Profit and prosper, since her ships of state Go down in darkness. Kind, thrice kind is Fate, Leaving our land secure, our grain to grow ! " A MERICA! They blaspheme and they lie •^ ^ Who say these are the voices of your sons ! In this foul night when nations sink and die, No thought is here save for the fallen ones Who, underneath the ruin of old thrones Suffer and bleed, and tell the world good- bye! [71] TODAY AND TOMORROW TO WILLIAM WATSON In Answer to His Sonnet, " To America, Concern- ing England" (1914) T>OET! In England's hour of pain and stress, '^ When her white face was stricken with dumb despair, We, knowing the red burden she must bear. Wept as an orphan weeps. Yea, and no less We wept for flowery France in her duress, And for brave Belgium weighed with tears and care; All lands in strife cried out for pity and prayer — The worthy sunk in war's unworthiness. 'TpHIS is no time for venom or for blame ! — •*• Our peace is the white remnant left of God, And when the shattered nations need a rod [^3] TODAY AND TOMORROW TO WILLIAM WATSON (continued) To lift them from the ashes of the flame, Our strength preserved shall quicken them. No shame Shall be upon us for the path we trod ! [24] TODAY AND TOMORROW ON THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA 1915 T O HERE is a mad hound in the world today, A hideous Thing that snarls and breathes its breath Of poison, frenzy, agony and death; A beast, a monster that no hand can stay In the old patient, everlasting way. Now must the whole earth, sick with sor- row, dumb With new despair, crush this delirium, This foul Thing of destruction and dismay. THOU my country, be not slow to smite This red abomination of the world. In righteous wrath let banners be un- furled Proclaiming thy proud purpose, thy stern might. TODAY AND TOMORROW ON SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA (contd.) Take heed, America! Thy breast is torn; Speak now in thunder for the race un- born. [26] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE LITTLE PEOPLE 1914 (For Edna Aug) npHE little, simple people are they who shall go down, Not Kings and Kaisers, Emperors, and un- availing Czars; The good, God-fearing people who never saw a crown — 'Tis they who know the power of guns and feel the curse of Mars. TT is the little people who must suffer and must **■ weep. They who do the wise things, the good things of the earth ; They who till the farmlands, they who softly reap The grain and the harvest, and build fires upon the hearth. [27] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE LITTLE PEOPLE (continued) 'TpHE good folk, the kind folk —'tis they who run toward Hell When Kaiser and Emperor dare to urge them forth ; Forgotten are the homely ways when sounds the war god's bell — From East and West they gather, from still vineyards of the North. "r^ROM orange-groves and wheat-fields, bar- ley-brake and plain. From business in the quiet towns, the sane work of the world. They rush at the mad call, and face the sting- ing rain Of shot and shell and cannon — for the King's flag is unfurled! 'T^HE little, simple people now run a race with -** Death, They who ran wise errands for the rulers of the earth; [28] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE LITTLE PEOPLE (continued) They give their all, who built the world, they give their blood, their breath. And who shall blow to life again the fires upon the hearth? r\ UNREGARDFUL Kings, and ye who hold ^^ high destinies. Within your misnamed mighty hands, how dare ye face your God When ye have thrown your simple people, people such as these. The good folk, the little folk, face down- ward on the sod? "pOR they are worth more than your crowns, -■■ more than ye know; They are the wise ones, and ye the fool- ish. . . . Stay! Keep them and protect them, before your light burns low. And the Lord God rebukes you on His awful Judgment Day! [29] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE SHOT (1915) T TE fired a million guns — and then ten million -■" "■• more; But we, on the other side of the world, heard only the echoes of War. "Ljr E fired a billion guns ; but faintly, faintly we -■^ heard; We thought of the fallen legions, and our hearts were torn and stirred. "DUT once, in the dead of night, in a lonely prison, hark! He fired a shot that rang, rang through the terrible dark — O ANG through the whole wide world, like a bell of doom and death; But it brought new life to a nation, though it hushed one v?oman's breath. [3^] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE SHOT (continued) /^NE shot out of all of those that have made the world a place Of terror and of tears ! — one shot, and God*s disgrace TS branded deep on his brow, and deep on his -*■ land as well; But deep in the heart of the world is branded one name — " Cavell ! " [31] TODAY AND TOMORROW SILENCE (For Ada Street) T NEED not shout my faith. Thrice eloquent Are quiet trees and the green listening sod. Hushed are the stars, whose power is never spent ; The hills are mute — yet how they speak of God! Norfolk, Connecticut. [32] TODAY AND TOMORROW AFTER HEARING TSCHAIKOWSKY w HAT is the meaning of such beauty pro- found? Ladders of utterance that lead the heart to heaven, All senses driven Up the high stairway to God's echoing halls, Where angels ever keep Song's festivals. Up, up, our souls are whirled — Then back again to the old groaning world. O rain of music suddenly that falls, O thrilling storm of sound. Now all our griefs are drowned In the wild flood that flows From the great heart of Melody where the Lord's trumpet blows ! TWEEDS we might do, ^^ Imperishable deeds of excellence, If we were drenched forever in such sound. Here are Life's wounds immense [33] TODAY AND TOMORROW HEARING TSCHAIKOWSKY (continued) That we might help to heal — great wounds unbound, And bleeding over the ground. And the loud chords but break our heart with pity, And bid us bleed with anguish for the pain That lives in every lane In every thundering city. w ARS we might quell, Lift beggars out of hell. Fling back to God the souls to Him now lost. If on these billows of beauty we might be tossed In hours now level with ease And pale with dalliance too. We might be captains in a world forlorn. Not cowards whose days are torn With craven fear, if on such sounds as these Our poor crushed spirits could climb back again To mercy, and to goodness, and to men. [34I TODAY AND TOMORROW HEARING TSCHAIKOWSKY (continued) TLTIGH dreams! . . . And now the harmony is stilled. . . . What is it that within me has been killed? . . . If it should be all bitterness, How I should bless This ocean, this immortal sea of sound. That healed me in its waves and tides pro- found ! [35] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE PARTING OF THE WAYS T HIS is the sum of my distress — Not that I need you more, but that I need you less; That I can walk the ways of earth with strange forgetfulness. T H HIS is the bitterness I know — That a deep love like ours so suddenly should go, Lost, like a fragile flower, under the snow. OW did it die? How did it fall? How did this wild disaster follow Love's carnival? Is Love to last for an hour? Is that to be all? [36] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE PARTING OF THE WAYS (continued) 'T^O have such need — and then have none! To have known such rapture out in the fiery sun, And then to say to each other, " It is over, and done ! " TTOW can we know it was Love? How can we know we tasted the sweets thereof? Yet one of us was worthy! Which of us? Time will prove! 'T^IME will prove! For the years will show Which of us suffered, and lost — nay, won — and withstood the blow. . . . It cannot be you; and if it be I, you will never know! [37] TODAY AND TOMORROW A BALLAD OF LOVE IN LONDON T HAD heard of the grey of London, the fogs like a heavy shroud That covered the ancient city and wrapped it in a cloud; And I had read in many a book and heard from many a tongue Of the long relentless London rain, whose song is never sung — Grey days, sad days, days of dread and gloom, And nights of dark foreboding like the silent tomb. II OUT when I went to London, where soon or late one goes, I met an English maiden, with a face like an English rose; [38] TODAY AND TOMORROW A BALLAD OF LOVE (continued) Her eyes were a bit of heaven, her hair was a golden cloud — And little I knew of the long, long rain, or the fogs like a heavy shroud ! In candlelight and £relight, beyond Trafalgar Square, O London was a bright town, London was fair! Ill T HAD heard of the dripping eaves on lonely Winter nights, The mist that covered the Thames at dusk, and the half-extinguished lights; The loneliness in the heart of the world, the desolation there — But I found all joy, all love, all life, beyond Trafalgar Square! Sad town, mad town, town of tears and shame. But O, to me a glad town — and blessed be her name! [39] TODAY AND TOMORROW A BALLAD OF LOVE (continued) IV T HAD dreamed of dimness, and darkness everywhere ; For folk had said that London was anything but fair; And yet upon her withered cheek I spied a rose's red, And in her eyes a glory, and a crown upon her head! With lovelight and Brelight and candlelight, how fair Was wonderful old London beyond Trafalgar Square! [40] TODAY AND TOMORROW BABOON \ T eight o'clock in the evening, -^^ And at two in the afternoon The monster curtains open, The fiddles creak and croon; And then I bow to the people — A lumbering baboon. T WONDER why I do it? Why do the humans stare From even rows of shadow Behind the footlights' glare? Why do I go through my weary tricks On a table and a chair? T HEY laugh and clap and giggle, They never seem to tire. For I am quite amusing As I dance upon a wire. Or leap, at my master's signal. Through golden hoops of fire. TODAY AND TOMORROW BABOON (continued) I CANNOT smile, like the people, I cannot speak at all; I pirouette insanely In the foolish carnival; Yet could I laugh, O, I would laugh When the velvet curtains fall! ^OR I wonder why those people Sit in such even rows. And smile at my useless knowledge, Laugh at my mincing toes. And dream that they have wisdom ! How little a human knows! A ND why do they always gather In houses bright and hot, When they might be out in the open In a place I've never forgot? Why do they hive in a shell like this. And bid me share their lot? [42] TODAY AND TOMORROW BABOON (continued) A ND why is my life a schedule, Run by rote and rule? I was not meant for theatres, I was not made for school ; I was not meant to caper here, A thing of ridicule ! I WAS not meant to be the slave Of a man in a shiny suit. To bring the golden dollars in. To stand up and salute ; The good God put me in the world To be a happy brute! B UT at eight o'clock each evening, And at two in the afternoon The monster curtains open, The fiddles creak and croon; And I bow to the senseless people A sensible baboon! [43] TODAY AND TOMORROW I A WOMAN OF THE STREETS WISH I had not seen them — Peach bloom, pear bloom and apple blossom white, Swaying in the wind like candles in the night. I wish I had not seen them hanging on the bough — For I am in my city chains, city weary now. ¥ WISH I had not seen them — Long, long lanes, and hawthorn rows of glory. Bright-bannered mornings with the good God's ancient story Writ in red embroidery on the far, high hills — I wish I had not seen them, for now their mem- ory kills. [44] TODAY AND TOMORROW A WOMAN OF THE STREETS (continued) T WISH I had not seen them — The ranks of scarlet poppies dancing in the corn When the world lay easy on the heart of the mom; And the shining battalions of the surging rain — I wish I had not seen them, for they bring me pain. ^TpHE hard, grim stones in the grey old town, ^ The dull days, the sad days, they weigh me down. But heavier is my soul for the lost things good and sweet — Oh, I wish I could not see them when I walk the iron street ! [45] TODAY AND TOMORROW CITY ROOFS (From the Metropolitan Tower) "D OOF-TOPS, roof-tops, what do you cover? Sad folk, bad folk, and many a glowing lover ; Wise people, simple people, children of de- spair — Roof-tops, roof-tops, hiding pain and care. T> OOF-TOPS, roof-tops, O what sin you're knowing. While above you in the sky the white clouds are blowing; While beneath you, agony and dolor and grim strife Fight the olden battle, the olden war of Life. "D OOF-TOPS, roof-tops, cover up their shame — Wretched souls, prisoned souls too piteous to name; TODAY AND TOMORROW CITY ROOFS (continued) Man himself hath built you all to hide away the stars — Roof-tops, roof-tops, you hide ten million scars. T> OOF-TOPS, roof-tops, well I know you cover Many solemn tragedies, and many a lonely lover ; But ah! you hide the good that lives in the throbbing city — Patient wives, and tenderness, forgiveness, faith, and pity. T> OOF-TOPS, roof-tops, this is what I won- ■■^ der: You are thick as poisonous plants, thick the people under; Yet roofless, and homeless, and shelterless they roam. The driftwood of the town who have no roof- top, and no home ! [47] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE LITTLE STREET WHERE SHE DIED I I WENT to the little street, The little street where she died, And it seemed to me as I turned the Square That the very pavements sighed. And the blinds stared, vacant-eyed, When I went to the little street. The little street where she died. THOUGHT of the days when she leaned Out of the casement there. And always watched for me As I turned from the quiet Square ; And the nights when I watched for the flare Of her lamp at the window-pane — A beacon through the rain. ... [48] TODAY AND TOMORROW STREET WHERE SHE DIED (cont.) T AST night I went to the street, The little street where she died, But I could not see, for my tears, The house of love denied. The winds, like spirits, sighed. . . . Then a star in heaven flashed Over the street where she died. [49] TODAY AND TOMORROW VISION COMETIMES, in a crowded street I see The faces of those that love, and those that are loved. And in the rush of the traffic, The thundering sounds of the city, I pause. Wondering about their loves — which are their lives. T KNOW them by their eyes, and by their glances ; I know them in a way I may not name, And I know those that have won and those that have lost In the eternal battle of the world. But they that have lost have not always a sad countenance ; Sometimes their lips smile, As if with an old comprehension, TODAY AND TOMORROW VISION (continued) And one might be deceived, save for the tragic eyes — The smiling, yet unsmiling eyes above the mouth. Those eyes have read in the great Book of Love, And they are changed, they are changed forever. And those lips have kissed the pages of the book. And they too are changed forever. Only, lips can lie — but eyes can never de- ceive. A ND those that have won — not always do -^^ they smile. Often they seem to be secretly weeping. As if with a joy too terrible to bear. . . . Strange, strange are the countenances of those that love. [51] TODAY AND TOMORROW VISION (continued) KNOW them all — brothers and sisters of Love. I know them, and they know me too. I can tell by their eyes — Their eyes that follow me with knowledge, With pity, with solemn understanding. I [52] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE CHILDREN IN THE CORRIDORS T HAVE seen children playing in the corridors -■■ of great hotels — Pathetic, lonely little creatures, Surrounded by rich velvet curtains and disin- terested nurses. Trying to play hide-and-seek quietly in the hushed hallways. Behind shining pillars, as country children play behind trees ; Or teasing the bell-boys, for lack of other companionship. As the bell-boys hurry about their duties. npHESE are the children that seldom see their -■• parents ; They are, sadly enough, the product of acci- dent, And their parents are indifferent to them. [53] TODAY AND TOMORROW CHILDREN IN THE CORRIDORS (cont.) They are tragic little beings; I am sorry for them with as much pity As one can retain who lives forever in a crowded metropolis. In the afternoons I have seen their nurses take them Out of the silent corridors of the big hotels Into the noisy stone corridors of the streets, And parade them solemnly up and down, up and down, As if they were mere wooden images instead of human beings. And always the wise little children's eyes follow other little children Who are in a like predicament, As if to say, if they could, " We are all one Masonic breed. And we understand one another." T HEY are led to the broader corridor of the Avenue, And toward the Park, with its pitiful spaces of green, [54I TODAY AND TOMORROW CHILDREN IN THE CORRIDORS (cont.) Its gravel walks, and its inhospitable signs That warn them from the grass. They are always surrounded by walls ; There is never any real freedom, even in the Park, And the grey, great buildings, the immacu- late hotels, Are visible in the near distance, and seem to say, " You cannot escape us! Our windows are eyes that watch you. And we shall call you back soon." 'HESE children have never learned to play; They have never learned the wonder of real companionship With some one who loves them. I pity them more than I pity The children of poorer people, for the chil- dren of poorer people are loved. And these are cast out because they are in the way. And given into the keeping of paid servants fsTl TODAY AND TOMORROW CHILDREN IN THE CORRIDORS (cont.) Who slight them or secretly frighten them. They live forever in a state of semi-neglect, And they will grow up — God pity them ! — Selfish, inconsequential men and women ; For their characters are formed in corridors. And corridors are narrow, dim places. [56] TODAY AND TOMORROW MYSTERIES T IFE holds unmeasured sanctities, Immortal glories — sun, and moon, The quiet stars, the western skies. And the deep wonder of ripe June ; T HE hills, the hosts of flowers; the mood Of Autumn, and the rippling rain ; Beauty no heart has understood. Passion that makes no moment vain. I T is so strange — this gift of breath. This pageant of the earth and sea; Yet stranger far than Life or Death Is this, O Love — your need of me. [57] TODAY AND TOMORROW AFTER T^RENCHED, after rain, ^^^ The lilacs tremble again In the cool wind, and pour Their fragrance round my door. /^RUSHED, when Love dies, ^^ Bravely her spirit cries ; But through Life's empty room, O the perfume ! [58] TODAY AND TOMORROW H H RISEN INDEED! OW can I doubt that He is risen indeed, Since at the Spring's exultant birth Through His green earth I see the flowering of each hidden seed, And feel again the old immortal need? OW can I doubt, when through white lanes I pass, Seeing the ancient beauty on the boughs In God's great house. Hearing the bells at this Aprilian Mass, Seeing the congregation of the grass? H O W can I doubt ? Nay, let me bow my head, Before the wonder of the April flame. In tears and shame. Since for one instant (O black moment of dread!) I dared to think that the great Lord was dead! [59] TODAY AND TOMORROW SPRING NIGHTS QPRING nights have come again, with their ^ old pity, Spring nights of simple fragrance, to the sad city. CEE how the long lanes filled with blue lights Wake to a strange rapture in the Spring nights ! \ LMOST I think I heard in the hushed dark, >own ; park. Down yonder thoroughfare, close to the 'fT'OICES of ghostly birds, bright after rain, ^ Singing the city's soul clean of its pain. CPRING nights, glad Spring nights, with their old pity. Ah! how we need them here in the sad city! TODAY AND TOMORROW w THE LOVER OUND me! Yea, break my heart, if, breaking it Thou dost acquire mysterious delight. Torture my spirit through an aching night, Fill me with pain and longing exquisite. If at the last for me thy lamp be lit. And once again I hold thee in my sight. Gladly I suffer, being Love's eremite ; And if I judged thee, lo! I would acquit. ^OR grief through thee is dearer than the bliss. The empty glory of acclaiming men; Count me thy vassal, if but once thy kiss Redeem thy wrath ; — then wound me. Love, again ! — For I do dread no moment more than this: Thy failure to afflict me. Love dies then ! [6i] TODAY AND TOMORROW AT A THE DANSANT XX/HEN I saw them whirling and twirling In the golden afternoon; When I heard the loud band playing Its reckless, shameless tune; "IX/HEN I saw their painted faces Drifting wildly by, I too forgot the glory Of the wonderful Spring sky. /^UTSIDE, the world was singing ^^^ Its marvellous old song ; I thought of scented woodlands Far from this maddened throng; ¥ THOUGHT of the great Silence More eloquent than sound. Of the music in the meadows, The gospel of the ground. TODAY AND TOMORROW AT A THE DANSANT (continued) ND I thought : How can they dance here, In the golden afternoon, When the earth is wild with rapture. And Spring will vanish soon? "^HE scented air — I loathed it, As the dancers hurried by. . . . I looked through a little window At the stillness of the sky. ^HEN suddenly the music Ended in one loud flare. . . . The dancers turned to their goblets — I turned to drink God's air. [63] TODAY AND TOMORROW o IN AN OLD CAFE NE April evening, when the stars Hung like pale moths within the sky, We loitered in an old cafe, And watched the moon come, you and I. T HE people passed, as in a dream ; The hansoms lurched against the light ; Blue globes were twinkling up the street, Heralds of the great city night. ND as the film of Life rolled by. Beggar and prince before us there, We thought of all Life's ecstasy. And all its deep despair. ND in our heaven we forgot That we were of the picture too ; Others, who watched our joy that night, Wondered, and never knew. [6^1 TODAY AND TOMORROW SUPREME MOMENTS The highest moments are touched with tears Through our brief years, WE weep at birth ; We weep — if it be Love indeed that wakes — When first Love takes Our hearts and souls and shows us a new heaven And a new earth. We weep when friends forsake us; and we weep When one beloved falls quietly asleep. Lord God, let it be given That, when Death calls us down the shadowy years. For our poor passing there may be soft tears; Our going a moment supreme To one who hailed us in Life's mighty dream, [6l] ~ TODAY AND TOMORROW LOVE CAN DIE O VE can die — Love can vanish, ^ O remember this, vain heart. Love that can all sorrow banish. Love, too, can depart. H OLD Love close — fold Love surely In the glowing days that fly; Bind him with thy faith securely, Lest he weep — and die ! [66] TODAY AND TOMORROW ON FIRST LOOKING INTO THE MANUSCRIPT OF ENDYMION (In Mr. Morgan's Library) T DARED not dream that this dream could '■■ come true: That I was bending over that yellow page Lit with his words — our boy, our poet, our sage — And that I touched the parchment, old yet new, Whereon his fingers once had been. I grew Strangely afraid, as if some heritage Of wonder from a distant, holy age Had suddenly fallen on me, like soft dew. ** A THING of beauty is a joy forever. . . ." -^ There I read his lovely line, what time I dipped Into that hushed and haunted manuscript TODAY AND TOMORROW MANUSCRIPT OF ENDYMION (continued) That Love and Time have made even love- lier. Oh, I could only dream; yea, dream and weep. . . . Was it a vision? — Did I wake or sleep? [68] TODAY AND TOMORROW IN A PICTURE-GALLERY (A Private View) ARROGANT, richly at ease, And difficult to please, I saw fine women come To gaze on dreams like these: nr^HE visions of his heart •^ That trembled to impart Some fragment of his thought Through the strange lips of Art. IN silk and bright brocade, In green and gold arrayed, They came to this still room To see what he had made. HEY loitered just a bit: " Ah ! that is exquisite ! — That touch — that flash — that tone I'm crazy over it ! " " " [69] TODAY AND TOMORROW IN A PICTURE-GALLERY (continued) 'T^HEY gossiped, smiled and posed; A grande dame frankly dozed, Woke with a start, moved on — And the great portals closed. I N that hushed room were stored High dreams ! . . . Their motors roared Without; yet once or twice each Spring Well, one had to be bored ! [70] TODAY AND TOMORROW T ASSUNTA HE little nun, Assunta, When her sisters were at prayer. Crept out one April morning Upon the convent stair. And listened to the robins That sang in God's sweet air. "O BLITHE and brave Franciscans! ' The little sister said, " I trembled when I heard you At daybreak on my bed. And longed to sing my matins With you, when dawn grew red. * *T7RAIL choristers from heaven, Is it a sin for me To listen to your music. Your holy ecstasy? Or does the good St. Francis Look down, and smile to see? [71] TODAY AND TOMORROW ASSUNTA (continued) "M Y sisters chant responses In the strange hush and gloom; But O, sometimes I sicken For the green world's wide room, Long for the benediction Of bird and bee and bloom ! ^*TF it be sin, God pardon A wayward child. . . . Yet sing, Higher, and even higher. And let your voices ring. Mad trumpeters of April, Interpreters of Spring." . . . 'HE little nun, Assunta, Died on an April day; The sisters knelt around her In sombre black and grey, Singing their Nunc Dimittis, Forgetting not to pray. TODAY AND TOMORROW ASSUNTA (continued) /^UTSIDE, her friends, the robins ^^ Sang for the wayward child ; Higher, and even higher, Rang out their requiem wild ; And the sad sisters wondered When the little dead nun smiled. [73] TODAY AND TOMORROW LOVE'S SILENCES nr^HERE are great silences in a great love, •*• And fools are they who vainly strive to reach Those shining shores beyond the verge of speech, Where none should fare — not even the white dove That hides forever in true lovers' souls, And blesses them with stillness. There are deeps That none should desecrate ; jealous, Love keeps Sure watch when passion's ocean round her rolls. np^HESE calms are Love's hid meaning; they "^ contain The covenant and gospel of Love's years. The very Bread of beauty and the Wine. _ TODAY AND TOMORROW LOVE'S SILENCES (continued) O never dream to enter that dim fane, Flooded with knowledge and Love's aw- ful tears, But bow before the hush that is divine. [75l TODAY AND TOMORROW OLD JOHNNY VALENTINE (For A. E. Thomas) T\yrY friend had died — old Johnny Valentine, -*'▼-■' Who loved to laugh, and waited for my jokes Each Summer when I went to Gloucester. We Would sit in his small cabin on the coast. Watching the blue sea and the blowing sails, And in the night the silver stars and moon. Then I would tell him, with our pipes and ale, The little jests he loved — the city rhymes That tickled him until he laughed — and cried. /^LD Johnny died last Spring. It was in May ^^^ When the world woke with apple-blossoms white, And the grass whispered at his c^bin door. [Tel TODAY AND TOMORROW OLD JOHNNY VALENTINE (continued) Of course I went up to his funeral : I wanted one last glimpse of that good face, Brown, even in death — those weather- beaten cheeks. A ND after we had laid him in the ground Under a tree that grew outside his gate, I thought of all his laughter meant to me — That choking laughter, gay and innocent. Innocent as a child's. And then I thought Of the new jests that he had never heard. The bright collection for the coming June, The " city harvest," as he called them; all The limericks that grew along Broadway. IIJE would have loved them, was my natural ^^ thought; And so I told them to the neighborhood — His cronies and companions; the small crowd That loved him almost as I loved him. Yes, I dared to make them laugh, because I knew He would have liked to know that even now [77] TODAY AND TOMORROW OLD JOHNNY VALENTINE (continued) Humor and wit were dancing through the world. And as I told my jokes, I thought I heard The apple-blossoms shake in a light wind — Or was it Johnny Valentine who laughed? [78] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE QUARREL TN a house behind me in the crowded city -■■ I heard a man and woman quarreling. He called her shocking names, and she replied With bitter expletives that I forget. I only know I never dreamed such words Could fall from human lips, as high and higher Their angry voices rose in sudden wrath. And then I heard a blow — a sounding fist — And shuddered at the silence following, A silence far more terrible than the storm. Heads leaned from windows; all the neigh- borhood Wondered, as I had wondered, what it meant. N EXT day I saw the young wife in the yard, Hanging out linen — shirts and handker- chiefs. And then brown socks and heavy under- clothes. [79I TODAY AND TOMORROW THE QUARREL (continued) Upon one cheek she bore a purple mark, And I had never thought to see a face So tragic in a woman as young as she. And in a moment the brawny husband came With a white empty crib and cans of paint ; And while the woman pinned the clothing up, He set to work with brushes for an hour. And every little while she spoke to him: " It's going to look real nice, Sam." " Yes," said he. Or, " After that, suppose you fetch some coal — I think the fire needs it." "All right, Kate. ... • Let's have a steak for supper." " Sure we will." And presently, when she was going in, I saw her put her hand upon his shoulder, And he looked up and smiled. I turned away. And marveled at this life, but most of all At love, and the strange riddle of the world. TODAY AND TOMORROW ART A RT is a flaming mistress, '^ ^ Jealous, proud and elate; Deep in her heart is heaven, Deep in her mind is hate. "^TEVER, never forsake her! The ways of her love, who knows? Today, she is thine forever; Tomorrow, forever she goes. ]^JOT hers the tragic ending — To nobler loves she fares, Nor turns for a last swift parting, Remembers not, nor cares. [8i] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE QUIET YEARS 'HE days run by on golden feet, The old rain falls, the old wind blows. And every June our spirits greet Red repetitions of the rose. ' I ''HE ancient trees — how wise are they! And tides and sunsets, stars and grass; Ah ! friends and loves may pass away. But these true friends, they never pass. T HEY come again ; they do not fail. The Summer glory. Autumn tears; The punctual moon, whose face is pale How kind are all the quiet years! [82] TODAY AND TOMORROW TO A CERTAIN LITTLE BOY (Alexander Neil Smith) With a Silver Cup, on the Day of His Christening w HEN you are really quite grown up, Too big to drain this little cup, I hope the gods are kind, my boy, And fill Life's cup with magic joy. I pray that from a golden bowl You may drink wisdom for your soul, And in the chalice of the years Find much of peace, and less of tears; Find knowledge, beauty, faith, and love. And every blessing from above ; But most of all, in goodly share. Yourself pour Human Kindness there. [83] TODAY AND TOMORROW A SONG WHILE LOVING 'HOU who hast been as starlight in my dark- ness, Sun after blinding rain, peace after war ; Thou who hast been, through the long ages, All I have waited for; Now, in the noon of our rapture, Thee I adore. 'T^HEE I adore! Since it is through thee I hearken To a new song in the winds that shake the trees; Through thee I speak a new language. Suffer new ecstasies; Yea, and through thee drain Life's golden goblet Unto the lees. [84] TODAY AND TOMORROW A SONG WHILE LOVING (continued) HIS is the sum of my joy: that I hold you, Fold you at last, and in the midst of my pride. Say, " It is she who is with me Here, close, close at my side ! " Love, it is something to know when one's hour Is glorified! TpO know, and to speak of the glory! To shout it Under the blue of high heaven, and say, " This is our moment, this is a love that is perfect ; At last, at last we have found the way ! Would we could show it to those still blinded. . . . Love, let us pray ! " [85] TODAY AND TOMORROW I ONE OF THE PREDESTINED READ it in your face That you will leave us, young; You will go from this place Before your song is sung. H O OW avidly you take Life's cup, and drink its wine, Ere it shall fall and break, Revealing Death's dark sign. STRANGE and troubled eyes, Within those depths I see Immortal mysteries. Hints of Eternity. OU are to pass so soon, Fragile as a bright flower. . . . How sweet to be the moon. If only for an hour! f86] TODAY AND TOMORROW TAKE THOU THE ROSE TAKE thou the rose with all its beauty red, Nor strive the secret of its flame to guess; Pluck not one petal, lest the dream be fled, Vanished the loveliness. TAKE the one Love with all its rapture; yea. With all its ruin and sorrow. Love is sweet ; Seek not its fault, lest on some awful day Love crumble at thy feet. [87] TODAY AND TOMORROW I RETREAT (For F. Walter Taylor) KNOW a bookshop in a quiet street Close to the flame and thunder of Broadway, A little heaven, a refuge and retreat From the loud murmur of the staring day. T HERE, in the hush, with voices of the past Singing far songs — Wordsworth and Keats and Poe — Often I linger, dipping in the last Bright volume, or some ancient folio. ^HE world goes by; haply is lost — well lost, But old worlds rise before me in this place. And in some shining book, by Love em- bossed, I read the record of a nobler race. TODAY AND TOMORROW RETREAT (continued) I I I READ of pomp and chivalry and pride, Or the light laughter of a quiet age ; I dwell in moonlight on a distant tide, What time I thumb and turn some yellow page. HEAR the rustle of imperial lace, I dream of glory and strong, fighting men. . . . The lamps expire, and in the chimney-place The last red embers bum, go out; and then FIND myself one of the evening crowd. Facing the world that thrills me as before. But O that moment when they spoke aloud — Shakespeare and Dante — through Death's hidden door ! [89] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE PRISON T WENT through a crowded city ''■ A city within my own — Whose houses were of iron And terrible grey stone. I SAW each awful doorway With clanging lock and key, And faces white behind them, Most pitiful to me. HERE was a patient silence Within this town of tears, That told me more than lips could Of long, bleak, maddening years. T HAT silence — and those faces ! They haunt me all the while ; Yet why should dead men whisper, And why should dead men smile? TODAY AND TOMORROW RACING WITH THE RAIN WE were rushing through the valley, and my friend was at the wheel ; The highway lay before us like a rod of burnished steel. There was dust upon our motor, there was dust before our eyes, But the live thing sped like magic under- neath the Summer skies. f^F a sudden came a turning, and we heard a ^^ distant drum. " It is thunder! " cried my comrade. " And the storm will quickly come.'* At his words I looked behind us — yes, black clouds were scurrying on. **Now for speed!" I told my comrade. " It's five miles to Avalon! " [91] TODAY AND TOMORROW RACING WITH THE RAIN (continued) npHERE'S a flowing road to Newbright that -*• is like a silver snake ; It's the kind of road that every reckless racer loves to take. Now it lay white in the distance for a good three miles or more, And beside it was a deep stretch of the curved Atlantic shore. /^N my hand there fell a raindrop like a signal from on high ; Black and blacker sped the storm-clouds in the wide tempestuous sky. Close behind us now that army of the pur- ple hosts of rain, And above us, marching, marching, with a thundering refrain. TUST a touch upon a tiny bit of metal, and we ^ whirled Swifter than the swiftest eagle flying high above the world. [92] TODAY AND TOMORROW RACING WITH THE RAIN (continued) Swift as water down Niagara, plunging madly through the air, On, and on we raced; the lightning flashed around us everywhere. R ANKS of blue rain surged behind us. Would they drench us, would they come Like a sudden bright battalion filled with war's delirium? Would their gleaming swords surround us, cleave our cheeks, or goad us on Faster, faster, on that flowing road that led to Avalon? N OW the earth was dark around us, but we had no need of lamps. For the lightning blazed before us, search- lights from celestial camps. Far ahead we saw the roadway like a shin- ing, endless track. And we heard that army breathing, breath- ing closer at our back. [93I TODAY AND TOMORROW RACING WITH THE RAIN (continued) w HO would mind a healthy drenching? Surely not my friend and I ! Let the torrents pour upon us — we could still be warm and dry ! But the race was for the glory and the tri- umph we would feel If we beat our blue pursuers — beat them with a bit of steel! >RIDE of conquest, zest of winning, tang of mad achievement — these Were the laurel we would gather, and the crown that we would seize! Naught but victory did we dream of, effort wearing her bright bays; Our reward the joy of striving, and no man's indulgent praise ! EE! the spires of home before us! Ah! the roofs of Avalon! But the jealous rain behind us, now it pressed more madly on! [94I TODAY AND TOMORROW RACING WITH THE RAIN (continued) Furious at our seeming triumph, swift it sent its first brigades On the wind to touch our shoulders with their glowing silver blades. "OUT we reached the village court-house, and '^ our haven lay ahead, Underneath the arching elm-trees that were hospitably spread Like a monstrous, thick umbrella far along the avenue ; Dauntless followed those battalions, shining ranks and ranks of blue. QTILL the dust was on our motor, still the ^ dust before us lay. When, out from the drooping elm-trees we were on the roofless way. Ah! the open door before us! One mad plunge, our glad disdain — Safe at last! For we had beaten those mad regiments of rain! [95] TODAY AND TOMORROW THE VICTORS 'TpHEY have triumphed who have died; -*■ They have passed the porches wide, Leading from the House of Night To the splendid lawns of light. They have gone on that far road Leading to their new abode, And from curtained casements we Watch their going wistfully. A H ! that turn, that glimpse ! That last ^ Wondering where their feet have passed ! They have read new meanings, they Who have found the open way. Now they know that hill and glen Far beyond our mortal ken. And they know why Winter turns Into April; why Youth burns With its dreams that go to rust, Why men falter, and yet trust ; TODAY AND TOMORROW THE VICTORS (continued) Why the Autumn grieves and sighs Underneath the brooding skies ; Why the grass, with punctual feet, Comes in Spring our eyes to greet. And white dawn succeeds white dawn. And the moon shines on and on. T HEY have left our House of Night, Faring to the bournes of light. Grieve not for them ; rather, say, " They are victors on the way ; They have won, for they have read The bright secrets of the dead ; And they gain the deep unknown. Hearing Life's strange undertone. In the race across the days They are victors ; theirs the praise, Theirs the glory and the pride — They have triumphed, having died ! * THE END [97]