I saw from the gliding train
A yellow birch in the woods below,
And the dark pines close in again,
And thought of dry leaves falling slow
Under the cold cloud-shadows,
Horses of shadow, loosed in dreams;
And of the Snow Queen, pale and fair,
And Gerda looking for her Kay,
Poor Gerda, when she met the crow
Who led her in by the back way.
So, as they climbed the castle stair
To reach the bedroom where he lay,
Dark horses plunged like shadows,
Long-legged on the wall, in dreams;
And Gerda, while her heart beat fast,
Came where he slept, half turned away,
And called him, and the dreams rushed past,
And he awoke, and was not Kay.