The Star in the West

THE NEW WINE 299 Ah ! O in the silence, in the dark , In the intangible , unperfumed , Ingust abyss, abide and mark The mind's magnificence assumed In the soul's splendour ! Here is peace ; Here earneșt of assured release . Here is the formless all pervading Spirit of the World , rising , fading Into a glory subtler still . Here the intense abode of Will Closes its gates , and in the hall Is solemn sleep of festival . Peace ! Peace ! Silence of peace ! O visionless abode ! Cease ! Cease ! Through the dark veil pass on ! The veil Is rent asunder , the stars pale , The suns vanish , the moon drops , The chorus of the spirit stops , But one note swells . Mightiest souls Of bard and music - maker , rolls Over your loftiest crowns the wheel Of that abiding bliss . Life flees Down corridors of centuries Pillar by pillar , and is lost . Life after life in wild appeal Cries to the master ; he remains And thinks not . The polluting tides Of sense roll shoreward . Arid plains Of wave - swept sea confront me . Nay ! Looms yet the glory through the grey , And in the darkest hours of youth I yet perceive the essential truth , Know as I know my consciousness , That all division's hosts confess A master , for I know and see The absolute identity Of the beholder and the vision .' 1 The Sword of Song , Pentecost , vol . I, pp . 175-176 .