Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, EVENING LINES, by WILLIAM ALEXANDER PERCY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

EVENING LINES, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ah, dreamy world and liquid-sounding leaves
Last Line: Mysterious harmony, perhaps heard elsewhere.
Subject(s): Faith; Hearts; Lips; Silence; Belief; Creed


Ah, dreamy world and liquid-sounding leaves,
Ah, skies that on your bosom bear the dawn
And evening, and recurrent, trembling stars,
Why are we strangers to your certain calm,
Your joy, perennial and effortless?
We strive to understand; our desperate faith
Leans listening against the universe
To catch some meaning, some deep harmony
To still the throbbing silence that we hear.
In vain, in vain! There is an inner music,
But 'tis no serenade to please our ears.
When the last human heart is underground,
Great sunsets still will aureole the west,
No whit less gorgeous for that they're unseen.
And this divine frail moon will not delay
Because her lovers' lips are yet more pale
Than when her yearning parted them. Ah, no --
Not listeners we, but part, ourselves, of some
Mysterious harmony, perhaps heard elsewhere.





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