Collected poems, 1901-1918/Music Unheard

by Walter de la Mare

MUSIC UNHEARD

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."