Thy soul shall find itself alone

‘Mid dark thoughts of the grey tombstone

Not one, of all the crowd to pry

Into thine hour of secrecy.

​

Be silent in that solitude,

The spirits of the dead who stood

In death around thee - and their will

Shall overshadow thee: be still.

​

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

Shadowy - shadowy - Is a symbol and a token

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

How it hangs upon the trees,

A mystery of mysteries!

​

Now are thoughts thou shalt not banish,

Now are visions ne’er to vanish;

From thy spirit shall they pass

No more - like dew-drop from the grass.

​

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

Shadowy - shadowy - Is a symbol and a token

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

How it hangs upon the trees,

A mystery of mysteries!

​

The night, tho’ clear, shall frown—

And the stars shall look not down

From their high thrones in the heaven,

With light like Hope to mortals given—

Their red orbs, without beam,

To thy weariness shall seem

As a burning and a fever

Which would cling to thee for ever.

​

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

Shadowy - shadowy - Is a symbol and a token

Shadowy - shadowy - yet unbroken

How it hangs upon the trees,

A mystery!