NO WORD! no sound! But yet a solemn rite Proceedeth through the festive lighted hall. Hearts are in treaty, and the soul doth take That oath, which, unabsolved, must stand till death, With icy seal, doth stamp the scroll of life. No word! no sound! But still yon holy man With strong and graceful gesture doth impose The irrevocable vow, and with meek prayer Present it to be registered in Heaven. Methinks this silence heavily doth brood Upon the spirit. Say, thou flower-crown'd bride, What means the sigh which from that ruby lip Doth 'scape, as if to seek some element Which angels breathe? Mute! mute! 'tis passing strange! Like necromancy all. And yet, 'tis well; For the deep trust, with which a maiden casts Her all of earth, perchance her all of heaven, Into a mortal's hand, the confidence With which she turns in every thought to him, Her more than brother, and her next to God, Hath never yet been shadowed forth in sound, Or told in language. So, ye voiceless pair, Pass on in hope. For ye may build as firm Your silent altar in each other's hearts, And catch the sunshine through the clouds of time As cheerily, as though the pomp of speech Did herald forth the deed. And when ye dwell Where flower fades not, and death no treasured link Hath power to sever more, ye need not mourn The ear sequestrate, and the tuneless tongue, For there the eternal dialect of love Is the free breath of every happy soul. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A CERTAIN POET ON THE DEBATES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS UPON A DYING LADY by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE A FOREST HYMN by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT ELEGY BEFORE DEATH by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY SONNET FROM JAPAN: 2. THE SHRINE OF THE PILGRIM SANDALS by ADELAIDE NICHOLS BAKER THE STEAM-ENGINE: CANTO 9: GREAT WESTERN DAYS by T. BAKER |