The Whip-Poor-Will

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Do you remember, father,--
  It seems so long ago,--
  The day we fished together
  Along the Pocono?
  At dusk I waited for you,
  Beside the lumber-mill,
  And there I heard a hidden bird
  That chanted, "whip-poor-will,"
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  Sad and shrill,--"_whippoorwill!_"

  The place was all deserted;
  The mill-wheel hung at rest;
  The lonely star of evening
  Was quivering in the west;
  The veil of night was falling;
  The winds were folded still;
  And everywhere the trembling air
  Re-echoed "whip-poor-will!"
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  Sad and shrill,--"_whippoorwill!_"

  You seemed so long in coming,
  I felt so much alone;
  The wide, dark world was round me,
  And life was all unknown;
  The hand of sorrow touched me,
  And made my senses thrill
  With all the pain that haunts the strain
  Of mournful whip-poor-will.
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  Sad and shrill,--"_whippoorwill!_"

  What did I know of trouble?
  An idle little lad;
  I had not learned the lessons
  That make men wise and sad,
  I dreamed of grief and parting,
  And something seemed to fill
  My heart with tears, while in my ears
  Resounded "whip-poor-will."
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  Sad and shrill,--"_whippoorwill!_"

  'Twas but a shadowy sadness,
  That lightly passed away;
  But I have known the substance
  Of sorrow, since that day.
  For nevermore at twilight,
  Beside the silent mill,
  I'll wait for you, in the falling dew,
  And hear the whip-poor-will.
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  Sad and shrill,--"_whippoorwill!_"

  But if you still remember,
  In that fair land of light,
  The pains and fears that touch us
  Along this edge of night,
  I think all earthly grieving,
  And all our mortal ill,
  To you must seem like a boy's sad dream,
  Who hears the whip-poor-will.
  "_Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!_"
  A passing thrill--"_whippoorwill!_"

© Henry Van Dyke