The Shadow Of Dawn

William Ernest Henley

The shadow of Dawn;
Stillness and stars and over-mastering dreams
Of Life and Death and Sleep;
Heard over gleaming flats, the old, unchanging sound
Of the old, unchanging Sea.

My soul and yours—
O, hand in hand let us fare forth, two ghosts,
Into the ghostliness,
The infinite and abounding solitudes,
Beyond—O, beyond!—beyond . . .

Here in the porch
Upon the multitudinous silences
Of the kingdoms of the grave,
We twain are you and I—two ghosts Omnipotence
Can touch no more . . . no more!

Next 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : The Skies Are Strown With Stars
• William Ernest Henley : The Song Of The Sword
• William Ernest Henley : The Spring, My Dear
• William Ernest Henley : The Surges Gushed And Sounded
• William Ernest Henley : The Wan Sun Westers, Faint And Slow
• William Ernest Henley : The Ways Are Green With The Gladdening Sheen
• William Ernest Henley : The West A Glimmering Lake Of Light
• William Ernest Henley : There Is A Wheel Inside My Head
• William Ernest Henley : There's A Regret
• William Ernest Henley : To A. C.

Previous 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : The Sea Is Full Of Wandering Foam
• William Ernest Henley : The Sands Are Alive With Sunshine
• William Ernest Henley : The Rain And The Wind
• William Ernest Henley : The Past Was Goodly Once, And Yet, When All Is Said
• William Ernest Henley : The Full Sea Rolls And Thunders
• William Ernest Henley : The Chief
• William Ernest Henley : Suicide
• William Ernest Henley : Staff-nurse: Old Style
• William Ernest Henley : Staff-nurse: New Style
• William Ernest Henley : Space And Dread And The Dark