Pages

14.3.16

"Distant Voices" by Alfred Noyes (poem)

Remember the house of thy father,
 When the palaces open before thee,
  And the music would make thee forget.
When the cities are glittering around thee,
 Remember the lamp in the evening,
  The loneliness and the peace.

When the deep things that cannot be spoken
 Are drowned in a riot of laughter,
  And the proud wine foams in thy cup;
In the day when thy wealth is upon thee,
 Remember the path through the pine-wood,
  Remember the days of thy peace.

Remember--remember--remember--
 When the cares of this world and its treasure
   Have dulled the swift eyes of thy youth;
When beauty and longing forsake thee,
 And there is no hope in the darkness,
  And the soul is drowned in the flesh;

Turn, then, to the house of thy boyhood,
 To the sea and the hills that would heal thee,
  To the voices of those thou hast lost,
To the still small voices that loved thee,
 Whispering, out of the silence,
  Remember--remember--remember--

Remember the house of thy father,
 Remember the paths of thy peace. 

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