Golden Silences by Christina Georgina Rossetti
The speaker distinguishes the silence of a sorrowful life from the silence of death, which everyone will eventually know. Silent sowing and nighttime rest give way to a reaper’s joyful shout as the harvest ripens.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Meditative Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 150 words
First lines
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.
Genres
- Meditative Poetry — Three stanzas reflect on familiar sorrow, the unknown silence of death, and the harvest joy that ends silence.
- Lyric Poetry — Short rhymed stanzas express lament, acceptance of mortality, and anticipated delight through repeated contrasts between silence and sound.
Tags
silence · mortality · sorrow · sowing · harvest
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Golden Silences is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Meditative Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 150 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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