Shapes and Shadows — Then and Now

THEN AND NOW.

When my old heart was young, my dear, The Earth and Heaven were so near That in my dreams I oft could hear The steps of unseen races;

In woodlands, where bright waters ran, On hills, GOD'S rainbows used to span, I followed voices not of man, And smiled in spirit faces.

Now my old heart is old, my sweet, No longer Earth and Heaven meet;

All Life is grown to one long street Where fact with fancy clashes;

The voices now that speak to me Are prose instead of poetry: And in the faces now I see Is less of flame than ashes.