Thank you, John, for lending me this pale, teal-blue copy – goldleaf, hand cut pages – of Henry V. Dyke’s first poems. And thank you, Mr. Van Dyke, for understanding what my heart could never say.
Yours is the echo of my own.
IF ALL THE SKIES
If all the skies were sunshine,
Our faces would be fain
To feel once more upon them
The cooling plash of rain
If all the world were music,
Our hearts would often long
For one sweet strain of silence,
To break the endless song.
If life were always merry,
Our souls would seek relief,
And rest from weary laughter
In the quiet arms of grief.
henry van dyke
betweentheleafs 