When My Soul Findeth Wings
Like roses the bright dream did pass,  
    On swift, noiseless footsteps away;  
Like glistening dew on the grass,  
    Dissolving beneath the sun’s ray.  
Like voice of the lark that doth soar,  
    Through the golden haze of the dawn;  
You hear it and bend to adore,  
    Just hear it and then it is gone.  
The lark on his swift, flashing wings,  
   Keeps pace with the flowers in their flight;  
And that’s why when soaring he sings,  
   And passes so swiftly from sight.  
I slept, and a vision did see,  
   Of eyes that were tender and blue;  
I awoke to know that for me 
    The vision may never come true.  
The lark soars no more in the skies,  
    He’s gone with the roses and dew;  
The face with the soft tender eyes,  
    Comes never to gladden my view.  
My memory holds images fair,  
   Of all these beautiful things;  
Which I will be seeking somewhere,  
   When my soul, as lark, findeth wings.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on May 3, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.
