Poems of Madison Cawein Vol. 3 — 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 airy 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 dull 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.