Volume I Part 6 (1/2)

Yes; there was the port of Old j.a.pan, With its twisted patterns, white and wan, s.h.i.+ning like a mottled fan Spread by the blue sea, faint and far; And far away we heard once more A sound of singing on the sh.o.r.e, Where boys in blue kimonos bore Roses in a golden jar: And we heard, where the cherry orchards blow, The serpent-charmers fluting low, And the song of the maidens of Miyako.

And at our feet unbroken lay The gla.s.s that had whirled us thither away: And in the gra.s.s, among the flowers We sat and wished all sorts of things: O, we were wealthier than kings!

We ruled the world for several hours!

And then, it seemed, we knew not why, All the daisies began to die.

We wished them alive again; but soon The trees all fled up towards the moon Like peac.o.c.ks through the sunlit air: And the b.u.t.terflies flapped into silver fish; And each wish spoiled another wish; Till we threw the gla.s.s down in despair; For, getting whatever you want to get, Is like drinking tea from a fis.h.i.+ng net.

At last we thought we'd wish once more That all should be as it was before; And then we'd shatter the gla.s.s, if we could; But just as the world grew right again, We heard a wanderer out on the plain Singing what none of us understood; Yet we thought that the world grew thrice more sweet And the meadows were blossoming under his feet.

And we felt a grand and beautiful fear, For we knew that a marvellous thought drew near; So we kept the gla.s.s for a little while: And the skies grew deeper and twice as bright, And the seas grew soft as a flower of light, And the meadows rippled from stile to stile; And memories danced in a musical throng Thro' the blossom that scented the wonderful song.

SONG

_We sailed across the silver seas And saw the sea-blue bowers, We saw the purple cherry trees, And all the foreign flowers, We travelled in a palanquin Beyond the caravan, And yet our hearts had never seen The Flower of Old j.a.pan._

_The Flower above all other flowers, The Flower that never dies; Before whose throne the scented hours Offer their sacrifice; The Flower that here on earth below Reveals the heavenly plan; But only little children know The Flower of Old j.a.pan._

There, in the dim blue flowery plain We wished with the magic gla.s.s again To go to the Flower of the song's desire: And o'er us the whole of the soft blue sky Flashed like fire as the world went by, And far beneath us the sea like fire Flashed in one swift blue brilliant stream, And the journey was done, like a change in a dream.

PART IV

THE END OF THE QUEST

Like the dawn upon a dream Slowly through the scented gloom Crept once more the ruddy gleam O'er the friendly nursery room.

There, before our waking eyes, Large and ghostly, white and dim, Dreamed the Flower that never dies, Opening wide its rosy rim.

Spreading like a ghostly fan, Petals white as porcelain, There the Flower of Old j.a.pan Told us we were home again; For a soft and curious light Suddenly was o'er it shed.

And we saw it was a white English daisy, ringed with red.

Slowly, as a wavering mist Waned the wonder out of sight, To a sigh of amethyst, To a wraith of scented light.

Flower and magic gla.s.s had gone; Near the clutching fire we sat Dreaming, dreaming, all alone, Each upon a furry mat.

While the firelight, red and clear, Fluttered in the black wet pane, It was very good to hear Howling winds and trotting rain.

For we found at last we knew More than all our fancy planned, All the fairy tales were true, And home the heart of fairyland.

EPILOGUE

Carol, every violet has Heaven for a looking-gla.s.s!

Every little valley lies Under many-clouded skies; Every little cottage stands Girt about with boundless lands.

Every little glimmering pond Claims the mighty sh.o.r.es beyond-- Sh.o.r.es no seamen ever hailed, Seas no s.h.i.+p has ever sailed.

All the sh.o.r.es when day is done Fade into the setting sun, So the story tries to teach More than can be told in speech.