SUPPOSE (1) by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE

'Suppose. . . and suppose that a wild little Horse of Magic
Came cantering out of the sky,
With bridle of silver, and into the saddle I mounted,
To fly -- and to fly;

'And we stretched up into the air, fleeting on in the sunshine,
A speck in the gleam
On galloping hoofs, his mane in the wind out-flowing,
In a shadowy stream;

'And, oh, when at last the gentle star of evening
Came crinkling into the blue,
A magical castle we saw in the air, like a cloud of moonlight,
As onward we flew;

'And across the green moat on the drawbridge we foamed and we snorted,
And there was a beautiful Queen
Who smiled at me strangely; and spoke to my wild little Horse, too --
A lovely and beautiful Queen;

'And she cried with delight -- and delight -- to her delicate maidens,
"Behold my daughter -- my dear!"
And they crowned me with flowers, and then to their harps sate playing,
Solemn and clear;

'And magical cakes and goblets were spread on the table;
And at window the birds came in;
Hopping along with bright eyes, pecking crumbs from the platters,
And sipped of the wine;

'And splashing up -- up to the roof tossed fountains of crystal;
And Princes in scarlet and green
Shot with their bows and arrows, and kneeled with their dishes
Of fruits for the Queen;

'And we walked in a magical garden with rivers and bowers,
And my bed was of ivory and gold;
And the Queen breathed soft in my ear a song of enchantment --
And I never grew old. . .

'And I never, never came back to the earth, oh, never and never. . .
How mother would cry and cry!
There'd be snow on the fields then, and all these sweet flowers in the winter would wither, and
die. . .

'Suppose. . . and suppose. . .'

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