The Name on the Tree

I saw a name carved on a tree--"Julia";
A simpler name there could not be--Julia:
But seeing it I seemed to see
A Devon garden,--pleasantly
About a parsonage,--the bee
Made drowsy-sweet; where rosemary
And pink and phlox and peony
Bowed down to one
Whom Herrick made to bloom in Poetry.

A moment there I saw her stand,--Julia;
A gillyflower in her hand,--Julia:
And then, kind-faced and big and bland,
As raised by some magician's wand,
Herrick himself passed by, sun-tanned,
And smiling; and the quiet land
Seemed to take on and understand
A dream long dreamed,
And for the lives of two some gladness planned.

And then I seemed to hear a sigh,--"Julia!"
And someone softly walking nigh,--Julia:
The leaves shook; and a butterfly
Trailed past; and through the sleepy sky
A bird flew, crying strange its cry--
Then suddenly before my eye
Two lovers strolled--They knew not why
I looked amazed,--
But I had seen old ghosts of long dead loves go by.