Between the Dark and the Daylight (excerpt)
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the days occupations,
That is known as Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
the patter of little feet
The sound of a door that is opened
and voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice and laughing Allegra
and Edith with golden hair.