Rest

Long have I a word enshrined And worshipped with a piety blind! Long have I been seeking Rest In the East and in the West! Here and there and everywhere Have I seen her shadow fair ; But the shadow seems to fade Like the flowers of yonder glade. In my lone retreat I sought Her, but dreams against me fought. In my nights for her I pray, But with sleep she stays away. Foolish is thine effort, vain— Fruitless, hopeless is thy pain! With the march of Motion keep, In thy walk and in thy sleep Beyond thy finite power it lies To chain the coursers of the skies. Even nomads and cells minute Worlds of unrest constitute. Rest is no where to be found ; Each to all in suffering bound. And no power can deliver thee, Mortal, from activity. In thy life as in thy death, In thy heart as in thy breath, On the earth as in the skies Restless Motion never dies. Always raging, always spinning, Endless and without beginning. Death, like me, is seeking Rest, And all the seas are in her quest ; But ah, poor souls, she is beyond Our grasp ; we must go on and on. No, nor even the grave is free From the laws that shackle me ; New life from his worms takes wing, And on his face fresh blossoms spring.