Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MARRIAGE OF THE DEAF AND DUMB, by LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: No word! No sound! But yet a solemn rite Last Line: Is the free breath of every happy soul. Subject(s): Deafness; Love - Nature Of; Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives | ||||||||
NO WORD! no sound! But yet a solemn rite Proceedeth through the festive lighted hall. Hearts are in treaty, and the soul doth take That oath, which, unabsolved, must stand till death, With icy seal, doth stamp the scroll of life. No word! no sound! But still yon holy man With strong and graceful gesture doth impose The irrevocable vow, and with meek prayer Present it to be registered in Heaven. Methinks this silence heavily doth brood Upon the spirit. Say, thou flower-crown'd bride, What means the sigh which from that ruby lip Doth 'scape, as if to seek some element Which angels breathe? Mute! mute! 'tis passing strange! Like necromancy all. And yet, 'tis well; For the deep trust, with which a maiden casts Her all of earth, perchance her all of heaven, Into a mortal's hand, the confidence With which she turns in every thought to him, Her more than brother, and her next to God, Hath never yet been shadowed forth in sound, Or told in language. So, ye voiceless pair, Pass on in hope. For ye may build as firm Your silent altar in each other's hearts, And catch the sunshine through the clouds of time As cheerily, as though the pomp of speech Did herald forth the deed. And when ye dwell Where flower fades not, and death no treasured link Hath power to sever more, ye need not mourn The ear sequestrate, and the tuneless tongue, For there the eternal dialect of love Is the free breath of every happy soul. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BLESSING FOR A WEDDING by JANE HIRSHFIELD A SUITE FOR MARRIAGE by DAVID IGNATOW ADVICE TO HER SON ON MARRIAGE by MARY BARBER THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD KISSING AGAIN by DORIANNE LAUX A TIME PAST by DENISE LEVERTOV COLUMBUS [JANUARY, 1487] by LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY |
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