In vain across the darkness of the years,
In vain across the thousand leagues of sea,
In vain my yearning spirit longs for thee;
For sooner could I move with sobs and tears
That star which flitters bright among his peers,
There, in his robe of lonely light enfurled,
Than that remorseless Master of the World,
Whose awful voice is ringing in my ears:

" Stay not to pick the flowers upon thy way,
Stay not to hear the music of a voice,
Though none were fair and bright and sweet as these,
Though none, like this, can make thy heart rejoice:
They are but shadows from a brighter day,
But echoes of diviner harmonies."