THE SLEEPING TREES.
I know how the apple-tree went to sleep!
Its fluttering leaves were so tired of play!—
Like frolicsome children when dusk grows deep,
And mother says "Come!" and they gladly creep
To knee and to nest at the end of day.
Its work was all done and it longed to rest;
The reddening apples dropped softly down;
The leaves fell in heaps to the brown earth's breasts
And then, of a sudden, its limbs were dressed
(The better to sleep) in a soft white gown.
The maples and beeches and oaks and all—
When summer was over, each cool green tent
Seemed suddenly turned to a banquet hall,
Pavilions with banners, a flaming wall!
And then all was gone and their glory spent.
Then quickly the sky shook her blankets out,
And robes that were softer than wool to don
She gave all her children the winds to flout—
I wish I knew what they are dreaming about,
So quiet and still with their white gowns on!