- THE MIST
IN and out of the mist
We waver, ghosts that we are!
And the hands and lips we have kissed
Beckon us from afar:
Beckon us, whisper us, cry to us.
In and out of the mist;
Mock us, elude us, fly from us;
The hands and lips we have kissed.
In and out of the mist, like ghosts
We waver along the shore.
Flickering phantom-hosts,
Lost evermore — evermore!
Whispering, beckoning, sighing,
Weeping, vexing the night.
Nothing can stop our crying.
Except red burning light!
Ghosts in the mist are we,
And ghosts are the planets who peer
And peep at our misery.
With their tender pitiful leer;
But the great vermilion sun
That in one moment's blaze
Could melt, transfigure, and clarify.
And outline against eternity.
Our inmost selves and our troubled days,
The laughing, careless, reckless sun,
The life-giver, when all is done,
Knowing no weakness or tenderness,
Having no pity for our distress.
Sick to death of our mists and lies,
Pours himself upon other skies.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1927.
The author died in 1963, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.