John Bannister Tabb

1845-1909 / the United States

Premonition

As when at Mary's voice Elizabeth
Felt in her womb the restlessness of feet
That would outrun delaying birth, and greet
Alike unseen, the Conqueror of Death:
So, at the hour of midnight, wakes a breath
That in the womb of darkness, moves to meet
The soul of Morning, and a silence sweet
As incense tells of one that worshipeth.
Yea; life forever in expectancy
Stands tip-toe on the utmost brink of time,
Hushing the past, and listening to hear
(As poets the inevitable rhyme)
A dream's fulfilment in the echoes clear
That sing the present in futurity.
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