Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE AFTERNOTE OF THE HOUR, by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE AFTERNOTE OF THE HOUR, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The hour had struck, but still the air was fill'd
Last Line: And turn'd it heavenwards, to its proper bourne.
Subject(s): Time


The hour had struck, but still the air was fill'd
With the long sequence of that mighty tone;
A wild AEolian afternote, that thrill'd
My spirit, as I kiss'd that dear headstone;
A voice that seem'd through all the Past to go -
From the bell's mouth the lonely cadence swept,
Like the faint cry of unassisted woe,
Till, in my profitless despair, I wept;
My hope seem'd wreck'd! but soon I ceased to mourn;
A nobler meaning in that voice I found,
Whose scope lay far beyond that burial-ground;
'Twas grief, but grief to distant glory bound!
Faith took the helm of that sweet wandering sound,
And turn'd it heavenwards, to its proper bourne.





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