'TIS ten years since I saw her on the stairs, Heard her in house-affairs, And listened to her cares; And the trees are ten feet taller, And the sunny spaces smaller Whose bloomage would enthrall her; And the piano wires are rustier, The smell of bindings mustier, And lofts and lumber dustier Than when, with casual look And ear, light note I took Of what shut like a book Those ten years since! |