Waxing Poetic: Dreams in the Dusk by Carl Sandburg

 

     Most people are more familiar with Carl Sandburg's poems "Chicago" and "Fog." This is one of his lesser known poems and my favorite.

Dreams in the Dusk

Dreams in the dusk,
Only dreams closing the day
And with the day’s close going back
To the gray things, the dark things,
The far, deep things of dreamland.

Dreams, only dreams in the dusk,
Only the old remembered pictures
Of lost days when the day’s loss
Wrote in tears the heart’s loss.

Tears and loss and broken dreams
May find your heart at dusk.

     A few years ago, we visited Flat Rock, North Carolina where Sandburg lived in the later years of his life. The Carl Sandburg Home is called Connemara and is a National Historic Site. He lived there with his wife, Lillian (whom he called Paula).

     The house is in a peaceful setting overlooking a pond. I can imagine him sitting on the porch and composing this poem as night fell.

     "Paula" Sandburg also raised goats on Connemara. They are still there today (not the same ones!) and are very photogenic.

     We have more pictures of the Connemara Farm for you to see on Flickr.

Note: this is part 1 of a two-part spotlight on Carl Sandburg. Look for part 2 next week!