 | The Poetical Works of John Payne |  |
SOLITUDINEM FACIUNT.....
SILENCE on the sea,
Silence in the sky,
Nought aloof, a-lee,
Not a cloud on high;
Emptiness on every hand, Nothing far and nigh.
Silence in the sky,
Nought aloof, a-lee,
Not a cloud on high;
Emptiness on every hand, Nothing far and nigh.
In this soul of me
Neither smile nor sigh;
All, for grief and gree,
Gone and fleeted by;
Nothing left of life and love, Nothing but to die.
Neither smile nor sigh;
All, for grief and gree,
Gone and fleeted by;
Nothing left of life and love, Nothing but to die.
351
Once, afar, anear,
Waves ran high and low;
Once, now dark, now clear,
Heaven above did show;
Once a live sky frowned and smiled O'er a live tide-flow.
Waves ran high and low;
Once, now dark, now clear,
Heaven above did show;
Once a live sky frowned and smiled O'er a live tide-flow.
Once, with hope and fear
Filled, my life did go;
Once, with smile and tear
Bloomed my heart ablow;
Once with grief and gladness throbbed. Was it better so?
Filled, my life did go;
Once, with smile and tear
Bloomed my heart ablow;
Once with grief and gladness throbbed. Was it better so?
Fain the sea had been
Then unstirred and still;
Fain the sky serene
Then had been at will;
Fain o'er stirless sea had heaven Flawless stretched its fill.
Then unstirred and still;
Fain the sky serene
Then had been at will;
Fain o'er stirless sea had heaven Flawless stretched its fill.
Fain I then had seen
Peace from good and ill,
Peace from high and mean,
Peace from throb and thrill,
Fain from joys that waste had been Free and griefs that kill.
Peace from good and ill,
Peace from high and mean,
Peace from throb and thrill,
Fain from joys that waste had been Free and griefs that kill.
Breeze no more and blast
Now the ocean crease;
Heaven no more o'ercast
Is by fleck or fleece;
Sky and sea are blank of wane Now and of increase.
Now the ocean crease;
Heaven no more o'ercast
Is by fleck or fleece;
Sky and sea are blank of wane Now and of increase.
Now from life, at last,
Hath my soul release;
Now my thoughts from past
And from future cease;
Now in nothingness I have Peace; but is it peace?
Hath my soul release;
Now my thoughts from past
And from future cease;
Now in nothingness I have Peace; but is it peace?
| The Poetical Works of John Payne | |