A BALLADE OF OLD LOVES

CAROLYN WELLS

Who is it stands on the polished stair,

A merry, laughing, winsome maid,

From the Christmas rose in her golden hair

To the high-heeled slippers of spangled suède

A glance, half daring and half afraid,

Gleams from her roguish eyes downcast;

Already the vision begins to fade—

'Tis only a ghost of a Christmas Past.