A Dream of the Past

Oh, that I were a dainty flower To brighten the sunlit hour! To spin among the daisies fair, And breathe a fragrance on the air; To feel the dews from Heaven’s light, And drink the streams that rush at night, To watch the stars as they awaken, And in their dewy hour be taken.

But those bright dreams have taken flight, To mingle with the clouds in night, If I could wander, wild and free, From mountain top to endless sea, Yet I am bound to mortal ways, The endless hours of dreary days.

• Charles Lamb

• Charles Lamb