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Flame and Shadow

by Sara Teasdale

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June Night

Oh Earth, you are too dear to-night,
   How can I sleep while all around
  Floats rainy fragrance and the far
   Deep voice of the ocean that talks to the ground?

Oh Earth, you gave me all I have,
   I love you, I love you,—oh what have I
  That I can give you in return—
   Except my body after I die?

“Like Barley Bending”

Like barley bending
   In low fields by the sea,
  Singing in hard wind
   Ceaselessly;

Like barley bending
   And rising again,
  So would I, unbroken,
   Rise from pain;

So would I softly,
   Day long, night long,
  Change my sorrow
   Into song.

“Oh Day of Fire and Sun”

Oh day of fire and sun,
   Pure as a naked flame,
  Blue sea, blue sky and dun
   Sands where he spoke my name;

Laughter and hearts so high
   That the spirit flew off free,
  Lifting into the sky
   Diving into the sea;

Oh day of fire and sun
   Like a crystal burning,
  Slow days go one by one,
   But you have no returning.

“I Thought of You”

I thought of you and how you love this beauty,
   And walking up the long beach all alone
  I heard the waves breaking in measured thunder
   As you and I once heard their monotone.

Around me were the echoing dunes, beyond me
   The cold and sparkling silver of the sea—
  We two will pass through death and ages lengthen
   Before you hear that sound again with me.

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