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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


RHYMES AND RHYTHMS: 20 by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: THE SHADOW OF DAWN
Last Line: CAN TOUCH NO MORE . . . NO MORE!

The shadow of Dawn;
Stillness and stars and over-mastering dreams
Of Life and Death and Sleep;
Heard over gleaming flats, the old, unchanging sound
Of the old, unchanging Sea.

My soul and yours --
O, hand in hand let us fare forth, two ghosts,
Into the ghostliness,
The infinite and abounding solitudes,
Beyond -- O, beyond! -- beyond . . .

Here in the porch
Upon the multitudinous silences
Of the kingdoms of the grave,
We twain are you and I -- two ghosts Omnipotence
Can touch no more . . . no more!



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