LAND.
91
Alas! so spell-bound, feasting on the sight,
I paused, that I but reached the threshold bright,
When, swinging swift, the golden gates again
Were rocky walls, by which I wept in vain!
I paused, that I but reached the threshold bright,
When, swinging swift, the golden gates again
Were rocky walls, by which I wept in vain!
WHEN THE BABY DIED.
I.
HEN the baby died,On every side
White lilies and blue violets were strown;
Unreasoning, the mother's heart made moan:
"Who counted all these flowers which have grown
Unhindered in their bloom?
Was there not room,
O Earth, and God, couldst thou not care
For mine a little longer? Fare
Thy way, O Earth! All life, all death
For me ceased with my baby's breath;
All Heaven I forget or doubt.
Within, without,
Is idle chance, more pitiless than law."
And that was all the mother saw.
II.
When the baby died,
On every side
Rose strangers' voices, hard and harsh and loud.
The baby was not wrapped in any shroud.
On every side
Rose strangers' voices, hard and harsh and loud.
The baby was not wrapped in any shroud.
