I beheld the soft rainbow by twilight,
As it reared up its pale, irised arc
On the vespertine heavens, the highlight
Of the mauve-clouded dark.   

And I knew this the gateway to Faerie,
As it arched over darkening trees —
The glad land of the young and the merry,
And the sun-gilded leas.

But being awestruck and dumb with amazement
At this colorful streak in the sky,
I forgot what the sunset’s red rays meant,
And the moment went by.

And the rainbow evanished forever,
Like a vision dissolved in the haze;
And I knew I would walk ‘neath it never,
Till the end of my days.

[K. A. Opperman is a poet and artist residing in Southern California. He is the author of such books as Past the Glad and Sunlit Season: Poems for Halloween, and October Ghosts and Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween, both of which were published by Jackanapes Press. His art can be found both on Facebook and Instagram, under the handle @OpperArt. While not writing or drawing, he can usually be found in his garden, growing pumpkins.]