THE human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; -- The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed. And days may pass in gay confusion, And nights in rosy riot fly, While, lost in Fame's or Wealth's illusion, The memory of the Past may die. But, there are hours of lonely musing, Such as in evening silence come, When, soft as birds their pinions closing, The heart's best feelings gather home. Then in our souls there seems to languish A tender grief that is not woe; And thoughts that once wrung groans of anguish, Now cause but some mild tears to flow. And feelings, once as strong as passions, Float softly back -- a faded dream; Our own sharp griefs and wild sensations, The tale of others' sufferings seem. Oh! when the heart is freshly bleeding, How longs it for that time to be, When, through the mist of years receding, Its woes but live in reverie! And it can dwell on moonlight glimmer, On evening shade and loneliness; And, while the sky grows dim and dimmer, Feel no untold and strange distress -- Only a deeper impulse given By lonely hour and darkened room, To solemn thoughts that soar to heaven, Seeking a life and world to come. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GRAMERCY PARK by SARA TEASDALE THE WINDMILL by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES SLEEPY HOLLOW by WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING (1817-1901) UPON JULIA'S CLOTHES by ROBERT HERRICK ON SEEING THE ELGIN MARBLES by JOHN KEATS SIBERIA by JAMES CLARENCE MANGAN AT THE SEASIDE by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |