Poems (Cromwell)/Approach
APPROACH
Apparelled in a mask of joy till now,
I knew thee not. Asleep, I see thy face
More simply. Sorrow's leisure lets me trace
The nicer lines. Thy sealèd lids, thy brow,
Thy lasting posture, purposes avow;
In thy spent form resides a moveless grace.
A pageant was thy life, and in its place
I 6nd a truth to feed and to endow
My heart. Thy wonted mask of joy belied
The meaning death's bare attitude makes clear.
From living gesture thought went often wide,
And I was poor interpreter: but here,
Where it would seem our thoughts anew divide,
The steady silence draws thy spirit near.
I knew thee not. Asleep, I see thy face
More simply. Sorrow's leisure lets me trace
The nicer lines. Thy sealèd lids, thy brow,
Thy lasting posture, purposes avow;
In thy spent form resides a moveless grace.
A pageant was thy life, and in its place
I 6nd a truth to feed and to endow
My heart. Thy wonted mask of joy belied
The meaning death's bare attitude makes clear.
From living gesture thought went often wide,
And I was poor interpreter: but here,
Where it would seem our thoughts anew divide,
The steady silence draws thy spirit near.