Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here you will find the Poem By The Fireside : The Open Window of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

By The Fireside : The Open Window

The old house by the lindens
Stood silent in the shade,
And on the gravelled pathway
The light and shadow played. 

I saw the nursery windows
Wide open to the air;
But the faces of the children,
They were no longer there. 

The large Newfoundland house-dog
Was standing by the door;
He looked for his little playmates,
Who would return no more. 

They walked not under the lindens,
They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
Were hanging over all. 

The birds sang in the branches,
With sweet, familiar tone;
But the voices of the children
Will be heard in dreams alone! 

And the boy that walked beside me,
He could not understand
Why closer in mine, ah! closer,
I pressed his warm, soft hand!