The Open Window
The old house by the lindens
         Stood silent in the shade,
And on the gravelled pathway
         The light and shadow played.

I saw the nursery windows
         Wide open to the air;
But the faces of the children,
         They were no longer there.

The large Newfoundland house-dog
         Was standing by the door;
He looked for his little playmates,
         Who would return no more.

They walked not under the lindens,
         They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
         Were hanging over all.

The birds sang in the branches,
         With sweet, familiar tone;
But the voices of the children
         Will be heard in dreams alone!
And the boy that walked beside me,
         He could not understand
Why closer in mine, ah! closer,
        I pressed his warm, soft hand!