Poems (Jordan)/Under
UNDER
'Tis well to learn to read between the lines, For there, ofttimes, the meaning true, is hid; As in light conversation, we may bidOur deep emotions—lest by surface signsThey show themselves—to hide, as if 'twere shame To be possessed of feelings of more worth; So, 'neath the mask of an assumed mirthThe soul hides its face, with meaning aflame.
A word imperfectly must echo Thought; Thought may be traveling with perfect ease Beneath the world of words, and one who seesThe surface calm, sees not what has been wroughtOf Silence, on the fabric of that brain; What rare designs which words cannot disclose; So little all our outward living showsOf what our hearts and inner lives contain!