King Arthur in Avalon; And Other Poems (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1900. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... THE CHURCHYARD. "Whose voice would greet me with a sweeter tone, Whose living hand more kindly press my own, Than theirs, -- could Memory, as her silent tread Prints the pale flowers that blossom o'er the dead, Those breathless lips, now closed in peace, restore, Or wake those pulses hushed to beat no more ?" * Holmes. "I take the grasses of the grave And make them pipes whereon to blow." Tennyson. * See Note II. IN THE CHURCHYARD.* "They are all gone into the world of light, And I alone sit ling'ring here." Henry Vaughan. "In the churchyard dim, I sit, While the bats above me flit, Far aloof from Life's gay hosts. Very dreary, -- very lonely, -- For my audience, I am only Singing to the silent ghosts. "Moan is made; and prayer is said. I am deader than the dead. Oh, my loved ones, all gone home, Are you gone from me forever? Do you think upon me never? Are you deaf as you are dumb? "When the Grecian hero went, By the enchantress Circe sent Down to Hades' iron door, Gore of sheep brought to him thronging All the shades to him belonging. Not my tears alone I pour; "See, my own pierced heart a flood For you, of its own best blood, Sheds within and sheds in vain. *See Note III. Not one voice and not one vision Comes for me from lands Elysian; None returns of all your train "'Tis as vain for me to strive More to live with men alive; Grope my hands, but cannot do. In unto your sheltered quiet, Take me from this world's dull riot. Let me be as still as you. "Ye, who held your various lamps, Through its labyrinths and damps, Once to light this life of mine, You have taken them and left me. I am lost, since you were reft me, In a black, mephitic mine. "How shall eyes that cannot sleep, -- How shall eyes, that only weep, -- See earth's prizes more to find? 'Land whe...