Winifred Welles was born at Norwich Town, Connecticut, January 26, 1893, and educated in the vicinity of her home.
Her frail and delicately fashioned lyrics are the distinguishing feature of The Hesitant Heart (1920). This first volume, so appropriately named, has a frank tenderness that never grows maudlin, a wistful introspection that never forgets to sing.
FROM A CHINESE VASE
Roaming the lonely garden, he and I
Pursue each other to the fountain’s brim,
And there grow quiet—woman and butterfly—
The frail clouds beckon me, the flowers tempt him.
My thoughts are rose-like, beautiful and bright,
Folded precise as petals are, and wings
Uplift my dreaming suddenly in flight,