Verse and Reverse (1921)/The Gate of Dream

I seek a little hidden gate
That will swing wide to me—
Haply beneath a sunset-cloud,
Or moonrise wizardry,
Or in some winking vale of noon
And shadow I may find it soon.

A star-like moth may be my guide
Where dear, dim pathways run,
Or a sweet something beckon me,
Fragrance and song in one;
Or a west wind may pipe me on
To it in some pale amber dawn.

Beside it blooms a single rose
By dews ambrosial fed;
Some say it is all ivory white,
But I know it is red,
And Memory fond and Hope elate
Are the twin warders of the gate.

Beyond it in the crystal sky
My Spanish castle towers,
And all the ways are garlanded
With my ungathered flowers;
While haunting music faintly sings
Of exquisite, immortal things.

Some halcyon days I never lived
Are waiting there for me,
And laughter that I somehow missed
Echoes elusively;
O poignant quest! O lure supreme!
When shall I find my gate of dream?