Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE EDGE O' THE WORLD ONCE I stood at the edge o' the world- Were you ever there ? The sky came down to an opal sea, Out there in space hung a dream-made ship And the earth was only a narrow strip Of sea-shells, ground by the wheels of Time. No living things but my Love and I, And one white bird that was sailing by— But ah how foolish ! Why do I try To tell it now . . . like a stifled cry! My edge o' the world! Back to day in the valley! Small, green world, so sheltered and warm, Fruit trees white where the brown bees swarm, Gay little crowded gardens blow, Gay little feet run to and fro— On every side there are folk to greet— How heavy the air—so still and sweet! O green valley how far away . . . How far . . . from my wonderful, lonely day— My edge o' the world! THE POET I sang to my King And he listened, Though I was only his Fool. But his Minstrel had fled And drowned himself In .a darkling, woodland pool. And so when I said "I can sing a bit"— They took me in to the King, Where he sat and gloomed In his velvet chair, A-turning his great gold ring. I said "Sire, I'll give you a draught o' dream"— And I piped it low with a croon,— And I sang of the things that I know. I know The breathless hush in a summer noon, The silver ship of the Moon. . . the Moon, And the curve of the wave below. I sang of the Year's strange, golden loom, And the Rainbow's end in the greenwood's gloom, And the fall of the crystal snow. And a tiny, amethyst cup of dew Quaffed at dawn, when the world was new And the King and his Fool were young, were young All that was my draught o' dream. Then they whispered "The King grows childish! He is frail and his years are long. Who would grudge him the comfort he seems to take ... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.