Page:Songs of Russia.djvu/23

 Against their will it all came back—the plains, the village street, The poplar standing motionless above the silent pond.

The garden they remembered, known from their cradle-time, Where in the days of childhood, forever past, they played— Where merrily the broken swing was wont to creak aloud, And rippling laughter blithe was heard beneath the chequered shade;

The steep hill and the bower on it, the strips of golden wheat, The path that like a serpent into the dark woods wound, The peaceful light of dawn that shone beyond the slumberous stream— And silence on our circle fell; we sat without a sound.

We all of us were longing to forget: for want and toil, Privations sore and many cares had weighed upon us long; And, with a gentle, soothing song of reconciling love,