Iv

He sinks into deep thought:

There are shadows that compel us, There are powers that control: More than substance these can tell us, Speaking to the human soul.

In the moonlight, when it glistened On my window, white of glow, Once I woke and, leaning, listened To a voice that sang below.

Full of gladness, full of yearning, Strange with dreamy melody, Like a bird whose heart was burning, Wildly sweet it sang to me.

I arose; and by the starlight, Pale beneath the summer sky, There I saw it, full of far light,-- My dead joy go singing by.

In the darkness, when the glimmer Of the storm was on the pane, Once I sat and heard a dimmer Voice lamenting in the rain.

Full of parting and unspoken Heartbreak, faint with agony, Like a bird whose heart was broken, Moaning low it cried to me.

I arose; and in the darkness, Wan beneath the winter sky, There I saw it, cold to starkness,-- My dead love go wailing by.