Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE VOICE, by RICHARD WATSON GILDER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE VOICE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Rich is the music of sweet instruments
Last Line: Or pale br¸nhilde moans her bitter fate.
Subject(s): Music & Musicians; Singing & Singers; Voices; Songs


RICH is the music of sweet instruments, --
The separate harp, cornet, oboe, and flute,
The deep-souled viola, the 'cello grave,
The many-mooded, singing violin,
The infinite, triumphing, ivoried clavier;
And when, with art mysterious, some god
Thrills into one the lone and various tones,
Then is no hiding passion of the heart,
No sigh of evening winds, no breath of dawn,
No hope or hate of man that is not told.

But when a human voice leaps from that surge
'T is as a flower that bursts from th' trembling earth;
Something more wonderful assails the soul,
As, with exultant cries, up-curving, swift,
The shrill Walk¸re clamor against the sky,
Or pale Br¸nhilde moans her bitter fate.





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