Classic Poem

DEATH

I.

Death! — Shalt not thou reveal all things unseen,
And teach me why the roses faded quite,
And why a dawn that brake in golden light
Over blue Isis and far meadows green
Became so thunder-dark at noon, I ween! —
Death! — Thou shalt teach me why my lady bright
Fled with fleet steps till she was lost to sight, —
And sweet things were as if they had not been.

Death! Surely thou hast life within thy hands.
Thou canst reveal the secret: thou canst pour
(It may be) the old light along the shore:
Thou canst disclose the numberless star-lands
When daylight fadeth. Lo! beside thee stands
My lost love, found, — and found for evermore.

II.

Yes: this is the great crown of life, — to know
That death is nearer: — twelve years nearer me
Than when the sunlight filled that Northern sea
With glory infinite, and passion's glow
Fell over the blue waters. Even so,
Death, calm-browed God and Lord, I wait for thee:
With those I love, Lord, I would also be;
For one by one my loved ones, smiling, go.

And I shall follow. I am nearer those
Who have died and left me, — nearer every day.
Soon I shall join the unspeakable repose
Of mighty souls and true who have passed away.
Straight from death's sea to-night the sea-wind blows:
What touched my forehead? — Ah, the spray, the spray!