There is silence that saith, "Ah me!"
        There is silence that nothing saith;
                One the silence of life forlorn,
        One the silence of death;
One is, and the other shall be.

One we know and have known for long,
        One we know not, but we shall know,
                All we who have ever been born;
        Even so, be it so,--
There is silence, despite a song.

Sowing day is a silent day,
        Resting night is a silent night;
                But whoso reaps the ripened corn
        Shall shout in his delight,
While silences vanish away.