Silence
(To Eleonora Duse)
We are anhungered after solitude1, Deep stillness pure of any speech or sound, Soft quiet hovering2 over pools profound, The silences that on the desert brood, Above a windless hush3 of empty seas, The broad unfurling banners of the dawn, A faery forest where there sleeps a Faun; Our souls are fain of solitudes4 like these. O woman who divined our weariness, And set the crown of silence on your art, From what undreamed-of depth within your heart Have you sent forth5 the hush that makes us free To hear an instant, high above earth's stress, The silent music of infinity6?