It was down in the woodland on last Hallowe’en,
Where silence and darkness had built them a lair,
That I felt the dim presence of her, the unseen,
And heard her still step on the ghost-haunted air.
It was last Hallowe’en in the glimmer and swoon
Of mist and of moonlight that thickened and thinned,
That I saw the gray gleam of her eyes in the moon,
And hair, like a raven, blown wild in the wind.
It was last Hallowe’en where starlight and dew
Made mystical marriage on flower and leaf,
That she led me with looks of a love that I knew,
And lured with the voice of a heart-buried grief.
It was last Hallowe’en in the forest of dreams,
Where trees are eidolons and shadows have eyes,
That I saw her pale face like the foam of far streams,
And heard, like the leaf-lisp, her tears and her sighs.
It was last Hallowe’en, the haunted, the dread,
In the wind-tattered wood by the storm-twisted pine,
That I, who am living, kept tryst with the dead,
And clasped her a moment and dreamed she was mine.
by MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN (1865-1914)
Public Domain Poetry
unbolt me 
This is pretty spectacular!!
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We quite agree, Steph! 🙂
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What a wonderful poem. Sad that he died so young.
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It truly is, Peter. 😦
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This is over a hundred years old? I did not see that coming.
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Yup indeedy! They wrote some pretty fine poetry back then. 🙂
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That was fantastic. Thanks for sharing it.
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You’re very welcome, Em! We thought it was too good not to share!
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This is a lovely, poignant poem that I found deeply affecting.
FYI: I gave you and Tati and your six-word stories a shoutout in my most recent post (yesterday).
Here’s the link:
https://annieasksyou.com/2019/11/03/the-drabble-liked-my-dabbling/
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Aw, thank you, Annie. That is way cool of you to do! 😀
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