 | Lyrical and other poems |  |
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THE LOST VOICE.
A voice was heard in the far blue sky,
Wasted on wings of melody;
When skies were all sunshine, flow'rs all bloom,
And the winds were fill'd with a rich perfume.
It floated along, and a mystery
Filled the earth, and filled the sky;
And the stars they fled from their distant height,
Thro' the realms of endless night—
And the moon was fix'd, and the clouds were still,
As the voice came by, with a magic thrill.
Wasted on wings of melody;
When skies were all sunshine, flow'rs all bloom,
And the winds were fill'd with a rich perfume.
It floated along, and a mystery
Filled the earth, and filled the sky;
And the stars they fled from their distant height,
Thro' the realms of endless night—
And the moon was fix'd, and the clouds were still,
As the voice came by, with a magic thrill.
The winter was gone, and the summer came,
And the tones of that voice were still the same!
And it came by a city, where arts and arms,
Had lent to man their many charms;
And the Sculptor paused, and the chisel fell
From his upraised hands, as he heard the spell:
And the reapers looked up from a field of grain,
As they heard its magic notes again;
And the fruits grew ripe, and the fields were green,
Where the melody of that voice had been.
And the tones of that voice were still the same!
And it came by a city, where arts and arms,
Had lent to man their many charms;
And the Sculptor paused, and the chisel fell
From his upraised hands, as he heard the spell:
And the reapers looked up from a field of grain,
As they heard its magic notes again;
And the fruits grew ripe, and the fields were green,
Where the melody of that voice had been.
But there was a cry of wail by night,
A star had left its lonely height;
And the winds, in whispering, hollow moan,
Roved thro' the eternal space alone:
And there was an awful mystery,
A marvel in the earth and sky;
As if a discord, far and near,
Had broken the music of either sphere;
Men look'd around, with fear and dread,
Nor felt the words that they uttered;
And the fields were untilled, and unripened the grain;
For, that voice, they never heard again.
A star had left its lonely height;
And the winds, in whispering, hollow moan,
Roved thro' the eternal space alone:
And there was an awful mystery,
110
As if a discord, far and near,
Had broken the music of either sphere;
Men look'd around, with fear and dread,
Nor felt the words that they uttered;
And the fields were untilled, and unripened the grain;
For, that voice, they never heard again.
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