05.05.2009, 18:36
SILENCE.
When at the sound of noon-proclaiming bell,
Quick as the note, throws by his spade the clown,
And from his forehead clears the careful frown,
With which, his work, before, he measured well;
Comes Silence with admonitory spell:
Oh changeful Silence, on the sedgy crown
Of a blue mere as lights a wild bird down,
Watching the air's vibration—thou dost dwell.
Vague spirit, whom nor hymn nor voice evokes;
But gazing Nature from her depths; and so
E'en the cessation of dull earthly strokes
Doth sanctify; behold the feathery snow
Falls on a wood of monumental oaks,
Stern and unmoved; and not a wind doth blow.
When at the sound of noon-proclaiming bell,
Quick as the note, throws by his spade the clown,
And from his forehead clears the careful frown,
With which, his work, before, he measured well;
Comes Silence with admonitory spell:
Oh changeful Silence, on the sedgy crown
Of a blue mere as lights a wild bird down,
Watching the air's vibration—thou dost dwell.
Vague spirit, whom nor hymn nor voice evokes;
But gazing Nature from her depths; and so
E'en the cessation of dull earthly strokes
Doth sanctify; behold the feathery snow
Falls on a wood of monumental oaks,
Stern and unmoved; and not a wind doth blow.