Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
The IslandRobert Alden Sanborn
U
In your bosom I am shut.
I wandered on the island
In a pale noon, and a hut
I found within the island
Dusk of willow, elm and fern—
Alone amid the island,
A shadow in an urn.
It is a fairy island—
I never shall escape
Until the willowed island
Shall change its wistful shape;
Until the urn shall shatter,
And the shadow slake
The frail wish of the sleeper,
And she shall wake.
I dare not stir the island
Silence with a happy word;
I dread to shake the island
With a plea that may be heard;
So in sleep I keep the island,
Mate its dream with one mine own,
Lest into life the island break,
And leave me all alone.