The pale, the cold, and the moony smile
Which the meteor beam of a starless night
Sheds on a lonely and sea-girt isle,
Ere the dawning of morn’s undoubted light,
Is the flame of life so fickle and wan
That flits round our steps till their strength is gone.

O man! hold thee on in courage of soul
Through the stormy shades of thy wordly way,
And the billows of clouds that around thee roll
Shall sleep in the light of a wondrous day,
Where hell and heaven shall leave thee free
To the universe of destiny.

This world is the nurse of all we know,
This world is the mother of all we feel,
And the coming of death is a fearful blow
To a brain unencompass’d by nerves of steel:
When all that we know, or feel, or see,
Shall pass like an unreal mystery.

The secret things of the grave are there,
Where all but this frame must surely be,
Though the fine-wrought eye and the wondrous ear
No longer will live, to hear or to see
All that is great and all that is strange
In the boundless realm of unending change.

Who telleth a tale of unspeaking death?
Who lifteth the veil of what is to come?
Who painteth the shadows that are beneath
The wide-winding caves of the peopled tomb?
Or uniteth the hopes of what shall be
With the fears and the love for that which we see?

Knowest thou the time when
the wild goats of the rock bring
forth? or canst thou mark when the
hinds do calve?
2 Canst thou number the months
that they fulfill? or knowest thou the
time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves, they
bring forth their young ones, they cast
out their sorrows.
4 Their young ones are in good
liking, they grow up with corn; they
go forth, and return not unto them.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ***
free? or who hath loosed the bands
of the wild ***?
6 Whose house I have made the
wilderness, and the barren land his
dwellings.
7 He scorneth the multitude of the
city, neither regardeth he the crying
of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is
his pasture, and he searchest after
every green thing.
9 Will the unicorn be willing to
serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the unicorn
with his band in the furrow? or will
he harrow the valleys after thee?
11 Wilt thou trust him, because his
strength is great? or wilt thou leave
thy labour to him?
12 Wilt thou believe him, that he
will bring home thy seed, and gather
it into thy barn?
13 Gavest thou the goodly wings
unto the peacocks? or wings and
feathers unto the ostrich?
14 Which leaveth jer eggs in the
earth. and warmest them in dust,
15 And forgetteth that the foot
may crush them, or that the wild beast
may break them.
16 She is hardened against her
young ones, as though they were not
her's: her labour is in vain without
fear;
17 Because God hath deprived her
of wisdom, neither hath he imparted
to her understanding.
18 What time she lifteth up herself
on high, she scorneth the horse and
his rider.
19 Hast thou given the horse
strength? hast thou clothed his neck
with thunder?
20 Canst thou make him afraid as
a grasshopper? the glory of his
nostrils is terrible.
21 He paweth in the valley, and
rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on
to meet the armed men.
22 He mocketh at fear, and is not
affrighted; neither turneth he back
from the sword.
23 The quiver rattleth against him,
the glittering spear and the shield.
24 He swalloeth the ground with
fierceness and rage: neither believeth
he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25 He saith among the trumpets,
Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar
off, the thunder of the captains, and
the shouting.
26 Doth the hawk fly by thy
wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the
south?
27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy
command, and make her nest on
high?
28 She dwelleth and abideth on
the rock, upon the crag of the rock,
and the strong place.
29 From thence she seeketh the
prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30 Her young ones also **** up
blood: and where the slain are, there
is she.

Thou art th' love, that danceth through my veins
Thou art th' charm, that befriendeth my dreams
Thou art th' heart, that consoleth my pains-
'midst those torrents of greedy stains
and those wakeful, shattering rains.

Thou art th' walls, that bear my soul
The wondrous cells-within my arms, legs, and lungs.
Thou art th' bushes of my nature;
thy redness dark, but plain and pure!

Thou art th' gusts to my river;
that layeth awake in its daydreaming.
Thou releaseth it from its wan longing!
By thy fast speed, like a bird's wing!
Thou blusheth my cheeks and giveth me warmth;
but thou turneth mad at every harm!
Yet as I healeth thy bruise is gone;
thou greeteth my clouds, and praiseth my sun.

Thou art th' gold sands, to my pearls-
which free 'em from any hassles!
Thou bringst me strength in my rambles-
in my green lake, thou'rt brown ripples!
Thou remindeth me in solemn peace-
that lips areth for a sincere kiss!
Thou blest my life and happiness-
thou feedeth friendship and forgiveness!

Thou burst violent at my temper-
and sink my foul into disgrace!
In thy mind love is sweet laughter-
with no floods of cry or blighting haze.

Thou cheereth my joy and lifteth it up,
thou keepeth flowing and never stopeth!
Thou relieveth me on thy blessed shore-and aye!
Thou endeth my drought like no-'ne before.

In the cellar, on a dusty shelf, you'll find my treasures tucked away.
I keep my truths, side by side, in graceful chests with ornate keys hung on ribbons bright.

Joy on the first, carved by a childish hand,
A faded old photo of a beautiful girl,
A tiny candle, a baby curl.
A delicate music box with a sweet refrain,
of a young woman singing in the gentle rain.

Sorrow on the next, smooth and gentle,
Inside, a tarnished key, which fits not into a dream’s lock. A letter, creased and faded with age, never having reached its place. A lost doll, cast away, for with its owner it will no longer play.

Love beside it, with a tender shine,
On the box of which we lifteth the lid.
A sweet perfume drifts lazily, a sentimental touch. Inside lieth nostalgic trinkets, and it is in here that I keep my smiles. A love letter; sent to me, which hereth I will keep eternally.

Tucked away on the end, bashfully hiding,
It is hereth that I keep my gratitude.
Fondly smiled upon, a velvet-lined chest.
Inside a shell, gifted long ago,
And a photo taken with a stranger, now a friend. A jumble of reassuring notes, and a thousand smiles, shared with a thousand strangers.