By sound of name, and touch of hand, Thro' ears that hear, and eyes that see, We know each other in this land, How little must that knowledge be? How souls are all the time alone, No spirit can another reach; They hide away in realms unknown, Like waves that never touch a beach. We never know each other here, No soul can here another see -- To know, we need a light as clear As that which fills eternity. For here we walk by human light, But there the light of God is ours, Each day, on earth, is but a night; Heaven alone hath clear-faced hours. I call you thus -- you call me thus -- Our mortal is the very bar That parts forever each of us, As skies, on high, part star from star. A name is nothing but a name For that which, else, would nameless be; Until our souls, in rapture, claim Full knowledge in eternity. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EVENING CLOUDS by FRANCIS LEDWIDGE ON THE MEDUSA OF LEONARDO DA VINCI IN THE FLORENTINE GALLERY by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY THE MORAL FABLES: THE LION AND THE MOUSE by AESOP AN EVENING PRAYER by BERNARD BARTON THE RING AND THE BOOK: BOOK 5. COUNT GUIDO FRANCESCHINI by ROBERT BROWNING AN AMULET by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON CREOLE SLAVE SONG: THE SONG OF CAYETANO'S CIRCUS by GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE THE PASSING OF THE OLD VERMONT MEETINGHOUSE by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY |