Maureen Elkins - The Dreamer lyrics

Softly silhouetted against the dull blue sky She looks across the rolling meadows To see if the men are coming with the day's last load She looks and still she does not see The melting shadows of the wood That frame the field. There she stands, and since only the familiar meets her gaze Her dreams go undisturbed until Far from the homely view She wanders through a meadow not unlike the one before her But one adorned with flowers unfamiliar, Strange of scent, and with a wealth of beauty never seen nearby Her dress hangs limp and soiled After her household chores; And her hair, though soft is straggly, Her face sagged in repose is wistful, tender, young; From within a longing and imagination Playing together give a certain quality That cannot be defined, but make her almost pretty. Not conscious of the reason why she dreams and idles so She lingers. Still a moment, Then sighing in resignation, she turns to fill the stove And draw the water for the table, In the distance a cloud of dust Spirals up into the blue (like dreams dispelled and scattered by realities) And the horses start the last, long stretch Across the meadow toward the barn.