OLD LADIES’ VALHALLA

I am thinking of a little house,

A pretty gray silk dress,

And a little maid with a tidy white apron.

I am thinking of thin yellow angels

Flying out of Sevres china tea cups,

And a cool spirit with slanting green eyes,

Who peers at me through the screen of plants

I have placed in the corner between the hearth and the window.

I am thinking of the peace in one's own little home

When the afternoon sunshine drips on the shiny floor,

And the rugs are in order,

And the roses in the bowl plunge into shadow

Like pink nymphs into a pool,

While there is no sound to be heard above the hum of the teakettle

Save the benevolent buzzing of flies in the clean sash curtain.