Poems (Jackson)/Presence
NAMELESS thing! which art and art not; spellWhose bond can bind the powers of the air,Compelling them thy face to hide or bear.O voice! which, bringing not the faintest swellOf sound, canst in the air so crowd and dwellThat all sounds die. O sight! which needst no shareOf sun, which sav'st blind eyes from their despair,O touch! which dost not touch, and yet canst tellTo waiting flesh, by thy caress complete,The whole of love, till veins grow red with heat;O life of life! to which graves are not girtWith terror, and all death can bring no hurt.O mystery of blessing! never liftThy veil! our one inalienable gift!
PRESENCE.
NAMELESS thing! which art and art not; spellWhose bond can bind the powers of the air,Compelling them thy face to hide or bear.O voice! which, bringing not the faintest swellOf sound, canst in the air so crowd and dwellThat all sounds die. O sight! which needst no shareOf sun, which sav'st blind eyes from their despair,O touch! which dost not touch, and yet canst tellTo waiting flesh, by thy caress complete,The whole of love, till veins grow red with heat;O life of life! to which graves are not girtWith terror, and all death can bring no hurt.O mystery of blessing! never liftThy veil! our one inalienable gift!