For works with similar titles, see The Shadow.
THE SHADOW
Clouds in the dim horizon,
And clouds upon my soul,
As I list to the wild grief-lulling voice
Of the wind's tempestuous roll.
Gray, gray is the sky above me,
And gray my life appears;
My lonely heart sinks cold and low
With weight of unshed tears.
And clouds upon my soul,
As I list to the wild grief-lulling voice
Of the wind's tempestuous roll.
Gray, gray is the sky above me,
And gray my life appears;
My lonely heart sinks cold and low
With weight of unshed tears.
Want and sickness and hunger
Are dogging me day by day;
Real sorrows are these that no reasoning thought
Of mine can chase away.
See! 'tis a shadow moving
Upon the white-washed wall,—
A little shadow, a fleeting shadow,—
Just passed, and that was all.
Are dogging me day by day;
Real sorrows are these that no reasoning thought
Of mine can chase away.
See! 'tis a shadow moving
Upon the white-washed wall,—
A little shadow, a fleeting shadow,—
Just passed, and that was all.
And within an opposite window,
A form that I know, and knew
In the sunny days of my earlier life,
That fleeting shadow threw.
And I know that her eyes are earnest
With purpose good and pure;
And the Faith of Innocent Love shines forth
From their clear and deep azure.
A form that I know, and knew
In the sunny days of my earlier life,
That fleeting shadow threw.
And I know that her eyes are earnest
With purpose good and pure;
And the Faith of Innocent Love shines forth
From their clear and deep azure.
And I feel her love around me
Fall still thro' the heavy air;
And it soothes my wearied, worn soul
Like an angel-tone of prayer.
Oh! yes, and at eve she kneeleth,
Raising her hands so white;
My name on her lips is dwelling
In her vesper prayer at night.
Fall still thro' the heavy air;
And it soothes my wearied, worn soul
Like an angel-tone of prayer.
Oh! yes, and at eve she kneeleth,
Raising her hands so white;
My name on her lips is dwelling
In her vesper prayer at night.
That shadow—'tis gone so quickly—
And yet a sunny beam
Comes thro' the gray clouds around me,
A joy-imparting gleam.
For, oh! while she still can love me
I'll bravely bear thro' all,
And my talisman of faith shall be
That shadow on the wall.
And yet a sunny beam
Comes thro' the gray clouds around me,
A joy-imparting gleam.
For, oh! while she still can love me
I'll bravely bear thro' all,
And my talisman of faith shall be
That shadow on the wall.