Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — 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!