I dreamed I stood by a beautiful river, Its waters were deep and wide, A cold, white mist rose cloud-like before me, Concealing the farther side. My feet were deep in the daisies and clover, And the hills were tipped with dawn, But I yearned for a glimpse out over the river Where one that I loved had gone. Though weary with waiting, I caught no signal— No tidings came back to me; There was only the sound of the pulsing river Outbound to an unknown sea. How vain, O life, is thy hour of dreaming, A breath that is lost and still; O hope, where now is thy beacon gleaming?— An ember so blackened and chill. Is every soul but a day uncharted, To end at the fall of night? Are love and wisdom and high endeavor Snuffed out, like a candle light? Ah no; from over the mist-hung river Came the touch of a vanished hand, And I heard the voice of my loved one saying, "O life, eternal and grand!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PICTURES FROM APPLEDORE: 5 by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE SWING by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON SONG AT THE FEAST OF BROUGHAM CASTLE; UPON RSTORATION OF LORD CLIFFORD by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH IN AN ALBUM by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS TO ROBERT GRAHAM OF FINTRY by ROBERT BURNS AN EPIGRAM, ON THE BLESSEDNESS OF DIVINE LOVE by JOHN BYROM QUI VIVE? by GRACE ELLERY CHANNING-STETSON |