Sonnet VI

Alan Seeger

Give me the treble of thy horns and hoofs,

The ponderous undertones of ‘bus and tram,

A garret and a glimpse across the roofs

Of clouds blown eastward over Notre Dame,

The glad-eyed streets and radiant gatherings

Where I drank deep the bliss of being young,

The strife and sweet potential flux of things

I sought Youth’s dream of happiness among!

It walks here aureoled with the city-light,

Forever through the myriad-featured mass

Flaunting not far its fugitive embrace, —

Heard sometimes in a song across the night,

Caught in a perfume from the crowds that pass,

And when love yields to love seen face to face.