I am tired of planning and toiling

In the crowded hives of men;

Heart-weary of building and spoiling,

And spoiling and building again.

And I long for the dear old river,

Where I dreamed my youth away;

For a dreamer lives for ever,

And a toiler dies in a day.


I am sick of the showy seeming

Of a life that is half a lie;

Of the faces lined with scheming

In the throng that hurries by.

From the sleepless thoughts endeavour

I would go where the children play;

For a dreamer lives forever

And a thinker dies in a day.


I can feel no pride but pity

For the burdens the rich endure;

There is nothing sweet in the city

But the patient lives of the poor.

Oh, the little hands too skilful

And the child-mind chocked with weeds!

The daughter's heart grown wilful,

And the father's heart that bleeds!


No, no! from the streat's rude bustle,

From trophies of mart and stage,

I would fly to the woods' low rustle

And the meadows' kindly page.

Let me dream as of old by the river,

And be loved by the dream away;

For the dreamer lives for ever,

And a toiler dies in a day.

This work was published before January 1, 1927, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

 
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.