Poems (Crandall)/Echoes

by Rosa Neil Crandall

Echoes

Below humanity's surface,
 Where dwelleth each human soul,
Strong waves of deeper feeling
 Like the surges of ocean roll.

We strive with our ceaseless chatter
 To drown the terrible roar
Of billows forever beating
 Warm hearts against the shore.

But a cry goes forth. and I shudder,
 As the echo is borne to me;
For I know some heart is breaking
 On the rocks of that storm swept sea.

Below humanity's surface,
 Where dwelleth the soul, there lies
A land of beautiful flowers,
 Of birds, and of sunlit skies.

Where the hearts of men find healing;
 And the splash of its fountains clear
Is music, wonderful music,
 To those who choose to hear.

And rare and sweet float the echoes,
 And wild from the sea they roll;
Forever ringing and ringing,
 From the unseen world of the soul.