VISITORS.
When I was very ill in bed
The fairies came to visit me;
They danced and played around my head,
Though other people couldn't see.
Across the end a railing goes
With bars and balls and twisted rings,
And there they jiggled on their toes
And did the wonderfullest things.
They balanced on the golden balls,
They jumped about from bar to bar,
And then they fluttered to the walls
Where coloured birds and roses are.
I watched them darting in and out,
I watched them gaily climb and cling,
While all the roses moved about
And all the birds began to sing.
And when it was no longer light
I felt them up my pillows creep,
And there they sat and sang all night—
I heard them singing in my sleep.
R.F.