Sonnets, Lyrics and Translations By the Rev. Charles Turner [i.e. Charles Tennyson] |
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THE AFTERNOTE OF THE HOUR. |
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 | Sonnets, Lyrics and Translations |  |
53
THE AFTERNOTE OF THE HOUR.
The hour had struck, but still the air was fill'dWith the long sequence of that mighty tone;
A wild Æolian afternote, that thrill'd
My spirit, as I kiss'd that dear headstone;
A voice that seem'd through all the Past to go—
From the bell's mouth the lonely cadence swept,
Like the faint cry of unassisted woe,
Till, in my profitless despair, I wept;
My hope seem'd wreck'd! but soon I ceas'd to mourn;
A nobler meaning in that voice I found,
Whose scope lay far beyond that burial-ground;
'Twas grief, but grief to distant glory bound!
Faith took the helm of that sweet wandering sound,
And turn'd it heavenwards, to its proper bourne.
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