Edward Rowland Sill

WERE there no crowns on earth,
No evergreen to weave a hero's wreath,
That he must pass beyond the gates of death,
Our hero, our slain hero, to be crowned?…

BECAUSE we are shut out from light,
Each of the other's look and smile;
Because the arms' and lips' delight
Are past and dead, a weary while;Because the dawn, that joy has brought,…

A TROOP of babes in Summer-Land,
At heaven's gate—the children's gate:
One lifts the latch with rosy hand,
Then turns and, dimpling, asks her mate,—"What was the last thing that you saw?"…

FIVE mites of monads dwelt in a round drop
That twinkled on a leaf by a pool in the sun.
To the naked eye they lived invisible;
Specks, for a world of whom the empty shell…

THE end's so near,
It is all one
What track I steer,
What work's begun.…

NIGHT in the woods,—night:
Peace, peace on the plain.
The last red sunset beam
Belts the tall beech with gold;…

WHEN I was yet but a child, the gardener gave me a tree,
A little slim elm, to be set wherever seemed good to me
What a wonderful thing it seemed! with its lace-edged leaves uncurled,
And its span-long stem, that should grow to the grandest tree in the world!…

FAREWELL to such a world! Too long I press
The crowded pavement with unwilling feet.
Pity makes pride, and hate breeds hatefulness.
And both are poisons. In the forest, sweet…

THIS I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:-
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords…

I SAID: "Blue heaven" (Oh, it was beautiful!),
"Send me a tent to shut me to myself:
I am all lonely for my soul, that wanders
Weary, bewildered, beckoned by thy depths;…

FAR in hollow mountain carñons
Brood with purple-folded pinions,
Flocks of drowsy distance-colors, on their nests;
And the bare round slopes for forests…

CLEAR water on smooth rock
Could give no foot-hold for a single flower,
Or slenderest shaft of grain:
The stone must crumble under storm and rain—…

DOWN in its crystal hollow
Gleams the ebon well of ink:
In the deepest drop lies lurking
The thought all men shall think.Fair on the waiting tablet…

"AH, could I but be understood!"
(I prayed the powers above)
"Could but some spirit, bright and good,
Know me and, knowing, love!"One summer's day there came to pass—…

I LOOKED in a dew-drop's heart to-day
As it clung on a leaf of clover,
Holding a sparkle of starry light,
Like a liquid drop of opal bright…

AS in the Spring, ere any flowers have come,
A vague and blossomy smell
Pervades the woods, all odors mixed in one,
As if to tell…

TWO craggy slopes, sheer down on either hand,
Fall to a cleft, dark and confused with pines.
Out of their sombre shade—one gleam of light—
Escaping toward us like a hurrying child,…

A THUNDER-STORM of the olden days!
The red sun' sinks in a sleepy haze;
The sultry twilight, close and still,
Muffles the cricket's drowsy trill.…

THE royal feast was done; the King
Sought some new sport to banish care,
And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"The jester doffed his cap and bells,…

DAWN has blossomed: the sun is nigh:
Pearl and rose in the wimpled sky,
Rose and pearl on a brightening blue:
(She is true, and she is true!)The noonday lies all warm and still…

O SOUL, that somewhere art my very kin,
From dusk and silence unto thee I call!
I know not where thou dwellest: if within
A palace or a hut; if great or small…

DOES a man ever give up hope, I wonder, --
Face the grim fact, seeing it clear as day?
When Bennen saw the snow slip, heard its thunder
Low, louder, roaring round him, felt the speed…

I
THE LOST MAGICWHITE in her snowy stone, and cold,
With azure veins and shining arms,
Pygmalion doth his bride behold,…

A PURPLE cloud hangs half-way down;
Sky, yellow gold below;
The naked trees, beyond the town,
Like masts against it show,—Bare masts and spars of our earth-ship,…