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| Sign on the side of the road leading into my hometown - Barrett Road, Vernon, NJ |
To pass unnoticed into night,
And, borne on that enchanted stream,
Time but its pulse of dark and light;
And even busied or apart,
I feel the currents restless sweep:
A conversation fills my heart,
Or voices answer in my sleep.
Nor does it move by words alone,
Beneath our smiles, our talk, beneath
All words, a colloquy goes on
Which runs as strong and still as death.
Where did it rise, that mighty flow
On which chance travelers, we embark?
What cordilleras feed with snow
Its cataracts raging through the dark,
I can not guess, nor yet foresee
What hour the flood, as we descend,
Will turn and sweep us to the sea
In which all rivers have their end.
Talking with you, I cease to care
Where the springs rise and where they flow;
The goal of all my search is here,
And here my everlasting Now.
Ten years ago, I sang David Evan Thomas's setting of this poem. It popped into my head this morning, and I was again stunned by the beauty of the lines. I'm going to have to program this set (Grace &Stir: Three Poems by A.D. Hope) again in the near future.
