O it was but a dream I had <br />While the musician played!-- <br />And here the sky, and here the glad <br />Old ocean kissed the glade-- <br />And here the laughing ripples ran, <br />And here the roses grew <br />That threw a kiss to every man <br />That voyaged with the crew. <br /> <br />Our silken sails in lazy folds <br />Drooped in the breathless breeze: <br />As o'er a field of marigolds <br />Our eyes swam o'er the seas; <br />While here the eddies lisped and purled <br />Around the island's rim, <br />And up from out the underworld <br />We saw the mermen swim. <br /> <br />And it was dawn and middle-day <br />And midnight--for the moon <br />On silver rounds across the bay <br />Had climbed the skies of June-- <br />And there the glowing, glorious king <br />Of day ruled o'er his realm, <br />With stars of midnight glittering <br />About his diadem. <br /> <br />The seagull reeled on languid wing <br />In circles round the mast, <br />We heard the songs the sirens sing <br />As we went sailing past; <br />And up and down the golden sands <br />A thousand fairy throngs <br />Flung at us from their flashing hands <br />The echoes of their songs. <br /> <br />O it was but a dream I had <br />While the musician played-- <br />For here the sky, and here the glad <br />Old ocean kissed the glade; <br />And here the laughing ripples ran, <br />And here the roses grew <br />That threw a kiss to every man <br />That voyaged with the crew.<br /><br />James Whitcomb Riley<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/while-the-musician-played/
