English Poetry. James Weldon Johnson. A Mid-Day Dreamer. Джеймс Уэлдон Джонсон.

James Weldon Johnson (Джеймс Уэлдон Джонсон)

A Mid-Day Dreamer

I love to sit alone, and dream,
And dream, and dream;
In fancy's boat to softly glide
Along some stream
Where fairy palaces of gold
And crystal bright
Stand all along the glistening shore:
A wondrous sight.

My craft is built of ivory,
With silver oars,
The sails are spun of golden threads,
And priceless stores
Of precious gems adorn its prow,
And 'round its mast
An hundred silken cords are set
To hold it fast.

My galley-slaves are sprightly elves
Who, as they row,
And as their shining oars they swing
Them to and fro,
Keep time to music wafted on
The scented air,
Made by the mermaids as they comb
Their golden hair.

And I the while lie idly back,
And dream, and dream,
And let them row me where they will
Adown the stream.

James Weldon Johnson’s other poems:

1. Down by the Carib Sea. 4. The Lottery Girl
2. The Color Sergeant
3. Mother Night
4. Down by the Carib Sea. 6. Sunset in the Tropics
5. And the Greatest of These Is War

To the dedicated English version of this website

---