MUSIC UNHEARD

By Walter de la Mare

Sweet sounds, begone —

Whose music on my ear

Stirs foolish discontent

Or lingering here;

When, if I crossed

The crystal verge of death,

Him I should see.

Who these sounds murmureth.

Sweet sounds, begone —

Ask not my heart to break

Its bond of bravery for

Sweet quiet's sake;

Lure not my feet

To leave the path they must

Tread on, unfaltering,

Till I sleep in dust.

Sweet sounds, begone!

Though silence brings apace

Deadly disquiet

Of this homeless place;

And all I love

In beauty cries to me,

“We but vain shadows

And reflections be.”