Page:Verse and Reverse (1921).pdf/22

I who so love the harmonies of sound:—
The gentle murmur of the waves upon the sand,
The wailing shriek of wind across the barren land,
The shrill cicada crying out the heat of noon,
The eerie laugh, across the lake, of startled loon,
Soft strains of music, crooning sweet and low,
The little sounds that follow sunset's afterglow,
Gay voices chattering, laughter overheard,
A trilling cadence, falling from a soaring bird,—
Have only silence, wherein sound is drowned.

Yet, recompense there is for me,—
For though my silence is dark, velvet-deep,
A cavern where sounds enter but to sleep;
A dark abyss, where never echo lies,
Yet can I see the lovelight in your eyes,
Your slender fingers as they talk to me!
Brave Heart! You are the very Soul of me.
No longer will I cry that life is pain,
I will be brave, and play the man again.
I am content, for I can see!