THE CHAMBER OF SILENCE
One autumn day we three,
Who long had borne each other company—
Grief, and my Heart, and I—
Walked out beneath a dull and leaden sky.
Who long had borne each other company—
Grief, and my Heart, and I—
Walked out beneath a dull and leaden sky.
The fields were bare and brown;
From the still trees the dead leaves fluttered down;
There were no birds to sing,
Or cleave the air on swift, rejoicing wing.
From the still trees the dead leaves fluttered down;
There were no birds to sing,
Or cleave the air on swift, rejoicing wing.
We sought the barren sand
Beside the moaning sea, and, hand in hand,
Paced its slow length, and talked
Of our supremest sorrows as we walked.
Beside the moaning sea, and, hand in hand,
Paced its slow length, and talked
Of our supremest sorrows as we walked.
Slow shaking each bowed head,
"There is no anguish like to ours," we said;
"The glancing eyes of morn
Fall on no souls more utterly forlorn."
"There is no anguish like to ours," we said;
"The glancing eyes of morn
Fall on no souls more utterly forlorn."
But suddenly, across
A narrow fiord wherein wild billows toss,
We saw before our eyes,
High hung above the tide, a temple rise—
A narrow fiord wherein wild billows toss,
We saw before our eyes,
High hung above the tide, a temple rise—
A temple wondrous fair,
Lifting its shining turrets in the air,
All touched with golden gleams,
Like the bright miracles we see in dreams.
Lifting its shining turrets in the air,
All touched with golden gleams,
Like the bright miracles we see in dreams.
