Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE CALL OF ETERNITY, by CHARLES V. H. ROBERTS First Line: Beloved, thou shalt be with me to-night Last Line: Shalt be learning thy spirit's grandest consummation. Subject(s): Future Life; Immortality; Soul; Retribution; Eternity; After Life | ||||||||
Beloved, thou shalt be with me to-night In Paradise! upon an emerald hill Paling the golden stars. Long have I waited, A tale twixt earth and heaven; watched in patience, Love, ambition, and in prayer. Lonely Years upon my soul conjured the perished Days of earth, sculptured Time in the slowest Clay of History; eternal yearning Answered only by the sighs of stars. Be brave, Beloved, for soon thy pain shall pass, Bitter agony in azure ending. My spirit's close; the shadows lengthen; the life Beyondits puzzle now lies near. High on the pinnacle hang our destinies; And for the ages that come after, We'll not sigh. Be brave! Eternal joy Is safe from Death. Fear not these walléd silences; But weave the tapestries and silks of heaven. Be not sorrowed by the griefs of those now left Behind. Sweet is the oblivion of sleep, But sweeter farthe sleep beyond oblivion. Then the rumour of thine illness cast Its death-lamp ray into eternity; Shed its argent irony as in The centuries before, the sprites of Pharaohs Gleaned from the perished cities of the Nile. The Euphrates dangled like a thread of gold Across the plains of sand, as Babylon Kings Spilled wine from their holy cups to gods Of brass, of bronze, of wood and stone, until That magic writing on the plaster of the wall. I was confusedstrangely sad, yet joyful 'Mid our colonnades of marble echoing With discussions of diviner things. A moment's wound of piteousnessthen I dreamed afar to earth. A song of day-dawn Sending words, a great phantasmal pageant Passed upon my spirit solitude: The burden of long-waiting years was lifting From my soul. Thy mystic breathing comes! Thy presence soon will be another Sphere In Space; a gem rising in silence From star to star; lose sense and form; A name to mingle in eternity, Up-wrapped our souls together in one flame. We'll make merry in the jests of constellations, Across the golden sands, and timeless shore; Nor count the passing hours save to compute How they make a closer oneness of us twain. Thou shalt be a princess in a pearléd City, entertained by angels unawares: Kings and queens will pay thee homage From the dynasties of Babylon to Napoleon. Thou shalt be mine Empress, o'er whose great Domain thy softened whispers thunder in the sky. Forever now thou art to me commended: This body feels thy rays last touch, Thy soul recessedthine eyes, dim urns of sleep. Beloved, I have died and gazing back at life Know whereof I speak. I cannot, dare not Tell thee more. Later,within This very house to-nightsome kindly friend Will kiss thy brow, deck thee with ornaments, Incense, burning candles, and the sweetness of Scattered flowers. Thou wilt be a memory Of beauty. They will discuss the sallies of thy wit And past accomplishments. But from me thou Shalt be learning thy spirit's grandest consummation. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IKON: THE HARROWING OF HELL by DENISE LEVERTOV LEEK STREET by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR UNABLE TO FIND by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS 3 by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS: 1 by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS: 2 by HAYDEN CARRUTH WRITING IN THE AFTERLIFE by BILLY COLLINS A PROPOSAL by CHARLES V. H. ROBERTS |
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