Silently -- shadowly -- some lives go,
And the sound of their voices is all unheard;
Or, if heard at all, 'tis as faint as the flow
Of beautiful waves which no storm hath stirred.
Deep lives these
As the pearl-strewn seas.

Softly and noiselessly some feet tread
Lone ways on earth, without leaving a mark;
They move 'mid the living, they pass to the dead,
As still as the gleam of a star thro' the dark.
Sweet lives those
In their strange repose.

Calmly and lowly some hearts beat,
And none may know that they beat at all;
They muffle their music whenever they meet
A few in a hut or a crowd in a hall.
Great hearts those --
God only knows!

Soundlessly -- shadowly -- such move on,
Dim as the dream of a child asleep;
And no one knoweth 'till they are gone
How lofty their souls -- their hearts how deep.
Bright souls these --
God only sees.

Lonely and hiddenly in the world --
Tho' in the world 'tis their lot to stay --
The tremulous wings of their hearts are furled
Until they fly from the world away,
And find their rest
On 'Our Father's' breast,
Where earth's unknown shall be known the best,
And the hidden hearts shall be brightest blest.