But they sought in vain in the earth or seas,
Oh, tell us whence are such dreams as these!
Say, are they of some far deathless clime,
Thus casting its shadows of hope on time;
Or voices of promise, sent before
The day when earth’s curse shall be no more?
We know not but life hath the cloud and pall,
And woe for the heart’s hope, more than all,
For its precious seed in the fruitless ground,
And its bread on the waters never found.