the church of the gesù.
39
And 'stead of death-anointed peace,
Forlorn and mystic woe, a sense
Of deprecating anguish—these,
With trumpet-voiced significance,
Spoke through these fast-closed lips; though loud
The pulses of the kneeling crowd
(That warm thick pant of breathing hearts
To which yon breathless one imparts
Yet quicker throbs), that hush was felt,
Distinct through all: what tongue could speak
Such eloquence? what plaint could melt
Into the soul? what pathos seek
To pierce the inmost heart as this
Impassive, rigid helplessness?
The organ's golden voice seemed mute
To its dumb patience, absolute
In weakness, dominant o'er all
Who knelt beside the broidered pall.
Prayerless 'mid those earnest prayers,
Unworshipping 'mid worshippers,
And severed by a bond of clay,
From all who worship and who pray,
No mother's passionate caress
Would dare that pallid brow to bless—
Forlorn and mystic woe, a sense
Of deprecating anguish—these,
With trumpet-voiced significance,
Spoke through these fast-closed lips; though loud
The pulses of the kneeling crowd
(That warm thick pant of breathing hearts
To which yon breathless one imparts
Yet quicker throbs), that hush was felt,
Distinct through all: what tongue could speak
Such eloquence? what plaint could melt
Into the soul? what pathos seek
To pierce the inmost heart as this
Impassive, rigid helplessness?
The organ's golden voice seemed mute
To its dumb patience, absolute
In weakness, dominant o'er all
Who knelt beside the broidered pall.
Prayerless 'mid those earnest prayers,
Unworshipping 'mid worshippers,
And severed by a bond of clay,
From all who worship and who pray,
No mother's passionate caress
Would dare that pallid brow to bless—
