Bells and Other Poems

<h2><i><SPAN name="SPIRITS"></SPAN>SPIRITS OF THE DEAD</i></h2> <p class="poem"> Thy soul shall find itself alone<br/> 'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone;<br/> Not one, of all the crowd, to pry<br/> Into thine hour of secrecy.<br/> <br/> Be silent in that solitude,<br/> <span class="ind1">Which is not loneliness&mdash;for then</span><br/> The spirits of the dead, who stood<br/> <span class="ind1">In life before thee, are again</span><br/> In death around thee, and their will<br/> Shall overshadow thee; be still.<br/> <br/> The night, though clear, shall frown,<br/> And the stars shall not look down<br/> From their high thrones in the Heaven<br/> With light like hope to mortals given,<br/> But their red orbs, without beam,<br/> To thy weariness shall seem<br/> As a burning and a fever<br/> Which would cling to thee for ever.<br/> <br/> Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish,<br/> Now are visions ne'er to vanish;<br/> From thy spirit shall they pass<br/> No more, like dew-drop from the grass.<br/> The breeze, the breath of God, is still,<br/> And the mist upon the hill<br/> Shadowy, shadowy, yet unbroken,<br/> Is a symbol and a token.<br/> How it hangs upon the trees,<br/> A mystery of mysteries!<br/></p> <hr class="r65" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />