II. “Which speaketh unto you as unto children.” ART thou so weary then, poor thirsty soul? Till night come down with blessed slumber deep As love, and seal thine eyes no more to weep Through long tired vigils while the planets roll. Have patience, for thou too shalt sleep at length, Lapt in the pleasant shade of Paradise. My Hands that bled for thee shall close thine eyes, My Heart that bled for thee shall be thy rest: I will sustain with everlasting strength, And thou, with John, shalt lie upon My breast. ECHO. [Goblin Market etc. 1862. 18 December 1854.] COME to me in the silence of the night; Come back in tears, O memory, hope, love of finished years. O dream how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet, Whose wakening should have been in Paradise, Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet; Where thirsting longing eyes Watch the slow door That opening, letting in, lets out no more. Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live Speak low, lean low, As long ago, my love, how long ago. THE HEART KNOWETH ITS OWN BITTERNESS. [New Poems 1896; Str. 1 und 7 (mit starken Abweichungen) in WHEN all the over-work of life Is finished once, and fast asleep How can we say 'enough' on earth- But still have bartered part for part. I used to labour, used to strive All else what matters, good or ill? To give, to give, not to receive! I long to pour myself, my soul, You scratch my surface with your pin, You stroke me smooth with hushing breath:Nay pierce, nay probe, nay dig within, Probe my quick core and sound my depth. You call me with a puny call, You talk, you smile, you nothing do: How should I spend my heart on you, My heart that so outweighs you all? Your vessels are by much too strait: A fountain sealed through heat and cold. Not in this world of hope deferred, Here harvests fail, here breaks the heart: VANITY OF VANITIES. [Time Flies, 1885. - 6 August 1858.] Of all the downfalls in the world, Sigh on, my ditty. There lurk a hundred subtle stings Kind Lord, show pity. MIRAGE. [Goblin Market etc. 1862. 12 June 1860.] THE hope I dreamed of was a dream, Was but a dream; and now I wake, Exceeding comfortless, and worn, and old, For a dream's sake. I hang my harp upon a tree, A weeping willow in a lake; I hang my silenced harp there, wrung and snapt Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart; My silent heart, lie still and break: Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed For a dream's sake. PASSING AWAY. [Goblin Market etc. 1862. 31 December 1860.] PASSING away, saith the World, passing away: Chances, beauty, and youth, sapped day by day: Is the eye waxen dim, is the dark hair changing to grey I shall clothe myself in Spring and bud in May: aye. Then I answered: Yea. Passing away, saith my Soul, passing away: With its burden of fear and hope, of labour and play, Hearken what the past doth witness and say: Rust in thy gold, a moth is in thine array, A canker is in thy bud, thy leaf must decay. At midnight, at cockcrow, at morning, one certain day Lo the Bridegroom shall come and shall not delay; Watch thou and pray. Then I answered: Yea. Passing away, saith my God, passing away: Winter passeth after the long delay: New grapes on the vine, new figs on the tender spray, Turtle calleth turtle in Heaven's May. Though I tarry, wait for Me, trust Me, watch and pray: Arise, come away, night is past and lo it is day, My love, My sister, My spouse, thou shalt hear Me say. Then I answered: Yea. LIFE is not sweet. One day it will be sweet |