“Darkling I listen; and, for many a timeI have been half in love with easeful Death,Call'd him soft names in many a musèd rhyme,To take into the air my quiet breath.”
“Softly the breezes from the forest came,Softly they blew aside the taper's flame;Clear was the song from Philomel's far bower;Grateful the incense from the lime-tree flower;Mysterious, wild, the far-heard trumpet's tone;Lovely the moon in ether, all alone:Sweet too, the converse of these happy mortals,As that of busy spirits when the portalsAre closing in the west; or that soft hummingWe hear around when Hesperus is coming.Sweet be their sleep.”
“Darkling I listen; and, for many a time I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call'd him soft names in many a musèd rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath; Now more than ever seems it rich to die,To cease upon the midnight with no pain,While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad In such an ecstasy!”
“Now a soft kiss - Aye, by that kiss, I vow an endless bliss.”
“t this is human life: the war, the deeds,The disappointment, the anxiety,Imagination's struggles, far and nigh,All human; bearing in themselves this good,That they are still the air, the subtle food,To make us feel existence, and to shewHow quiet death is.”
“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheardAre sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on.”