Thomas R. Lounsbury, ed. (1838–1915). Yale Book of American Verse. 1912.
Edward Rowland Sill 18411887
Edward Rowland Sill211 The Coup de Grace
I
That all was over betwixt you and me—
That, while this endless absence I endure
With but one mood, one dream, one misery
Of waiting, you were happier to be free,—
In cloud and stream and all the winds that blow, Yea, even in the faces of my fellowmen, The old companionship; and I might know Once more the pulse of action, ere I go. While this one pleading, querulous tone without Breaks in and mars the music in my breast. I open the closed door—lo! all about, What seem your lingering footprints; then I doubt. Strike fearless, let the naked truth-edge gleam! For while the beautiful old past I keep, I am a phantom, and all mortals seem But phantoms, and my life fades as a dream.