That the clouds with electric flash may meet,
And thunder may rattle its dreadful breath,
Yet never a sound break the rest complete,
Or the silence of this eternal death;
That the fierce storm-wind may bluster and blow,
Tearing the trees from the root-broken ground,
Or the wild sea-surf may leap and may flow
In solemn silence with never a sound.
For sound is but the vibrations of air
That strike on the drum of the living ear;