Caitlin's Dream (Summer Birds Are Leaving)
What doleful thoughts an absence brings
When one's so tired from longing
Thoughts banished in the daylight hours
At night time come a thronging.
The daily round of village life
No patience has for grieving.
The days grow short, the nights are long,
The summer birds are leaving.
Last night in dreams you were enrobed
Like Valentino's sheikh
Haremed girls lay languidly
On carpets at your feet,
And with each word
A tiny pearl tripped from your lips and fell
On desert ground. It rained today,
The children are all very well.
By boat and plane and camel train
I journeyed to your side.
One of your guards asked me my name
I swore I was your bride,
But unconvinced I had to beg
For them to let me through.
The Williams's send their regards.
Your friends at Browns ask after you.
I took your hand imploringly
As you lay in that tent
Seemingly ignoring me,
Despairing, patience spent.
I roared and screamed
And shook my fists beneath a desert moon.
The bills pile up as usual,
Please send a little money soon.
I cried let's leave this place my love,
A horse outside is waiting.
I'll carry you across the stream
From fame and fortune fleeting.
Then a skein of geese flew o'er the house,
The thunder of their wings
Awoke me from my dawn dark dreams,
What doleful thoughts an absence brings