Like shadows in the moonlight Or feathers in a nest Like stars on a dark night Or diamonds on her ivory chest These things are settled, ment to be You cannot change nor rid yourself thereof They are still yet listless like a bird trying to get free They whisper on the wind, their voices always soft Such are the ghosts of my past Not like misty beings but flesh and bone Yet always here and gone so fast That I know this world is not their home They come when my mind us wondering Or when I'm ill at ease They always come when sounds arise of suffering Or at the moment when they please But unfriendly they are not Nor are they unpleasant company They walk with me on days that are hot And when I'm lonely they talk to me in symphony Like nightingales on summers eve And tell me tales of times gone by And how they measure time by trees This was planted when born was I They say in pleasant voices And now it is a greater tree And full of happy noises And when they leave I still feel their company