Three Silences there are: the first of speech, The second of desire, the third of thought; This is the lore a Spanish monk, distraught With dreams and visions, was the first to teach. These Silences, commingling each with each, Made up the perfect Silence, that he sought And prayed for, and wherein at times he caught Mysterious sounds from realms beyond our reach. O thou, whose daily life anticipates The life to come, and in whose thought and word The spiritual world preponderates. Hermit of Amesbury! thou too hast heard Voices and melodies from beyond the gates, And speakest only when thy soul is stirred! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MOTTO TO THE SONGS OF INNOCENCE & OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE TO THE MEMORY OF MR. OLDHAM by JOHN DRYDEN PICTURES FROM APPLEDORE: 2 by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL JOURNEY by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY AUTUMN: A DIRGE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY THE ARAB TO THE PALM by BAYARD TAYLOR CAROLINA [JANUARY, 1865] by HENRY TIMROD |