IN TENEBRIS

All the lights have been extinguished
In my closely-curtained room,
Nothing now can be distinguished
In the all-pervading gloom;
And through darkness, so alluring,
I would float away to sleep,
Like a boat that slips its mooring,
And moves gently toward the deep.

How delightful this seclusion
From the garish light of day,—­
All its turmoil and confusion
Pushed, a little while, away! 
Neither men nor things shall try me
Till to-morrow brings its light;
Let my cares go drifting by me! 
I’ll not think of them to-night.

Social cant and empty phrases,
Base returns for kindness shown,
Envy’s serpent-smile, and praises
Which convey, for bread, a stone,—­
What a joy to have rejected
All such griefs, of evil born! 
What a boon to feel protected
From their advent until morn!

Moon and stars, without, are gleaming
Over snow-capped peaks sublime,
But to-night I’ll give to dreaming,
Nor esteem it wasted time;
Nay, through darkness, so alluring,
I will float away to sleep,
Like a boat that slips its mooring,
And moves gently toward the deep.

TWO MOTHERS

One night two lonely women met
Beside a storm-swept bay;
With tears their mournful eyes were wet,
Their pale lips salt with spray;
They passed; then turned, as though each yearned
Some friendly word to say.

“Poor soul”, cried one, “hast thou no fear
To walk this haunted strand? 
What hopeless sorrow brings thee here,
Where dead men drift to land? 
I too have grief beyond relief;
Speak!  I can understand.”

“I mourn a son”, the other said;
“That ocean is his grave;
My heart will not be comforted,
It breaks with every wave;
Would I might sleep in yonder deep
With him I could not save!

“The wind was raging, as to-night;
Straight on these rocks it blew;
I watched until the dawning light
Disclosed the wreck to view;
From where we stand I saw his hand
Wave me a last adieu!

“He deemed the boat too frail to bear
Another living freight;
‘Push off’! he said with tranquil air,
‘Go first, and I will wait;’
But all the while, despite his smile,
He knew ’twould be too late.

“That heartless crew shall nevermore
God’s absolution find! 
They watched, like cravens, from the shore
The man they left behind
Go down before the breakers’ roar,
The surges and the wind!

“Hence, when such maddened tempests rave,
I cannot rest at home,
For then the billows deck his grave
With flowers of snow-white foam;
And here I pray till break of day
Beneath night’s starless dome.”

A silence fell; then, faint and low,
The other, weeping, said;
“My heavier woe thou needst not know;
Within his ocean bed
On thy son’s name there rests no shame;
Would God that mine were dead!”