Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By John LancasterSpalding761 Silence
I
And noiseless grows the flower;
Silent are pulsing wings of light,
And voiceless fleets the hour.
Walks through the heavens bare;
The stars forever silent flee,
And songless gleam through air.
Heart sorrow makes no moan:
How still the zephyrs when they woo!
How calm the rose full blown!
Flies onward without song;
The crowding years as they pass by
Flow on in mutest throng.
And never speak a word;
The angels round about us sweep,
And yet no voice is heard.
The holiest hope is dumb,
In silence grows the immortal mind,
And speechless deep joys come.
No words has holiest prayer;
The loftiest mountain peaks among
Is stillness everywhere.
And silent praise is best;
In silence life begins and ends:
God cannot be expressed.