| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | IV. The Spirit-land | | By Jones Very (1813–1880) |
| | | FATHER! thy wonders do not singly stand, | |
| Nor far removed where feet have seldom strayed; | |
| Around us ever lies the enchanted land, | |
| In marvels rich to thine own sons displayed; | |
| In finding thee are all things round us found; | 5 |
| In losing thee are all things lost beside: | |
| Ears have we, but in vain strange voices sound, | |
| And to our eyes the vision is denied; | |
| We wander in the country far remote, | |
| ’Mid tombs and ruined piles in death to dwell; | 10 |
| Or on the records of past greatness dote, | |
| And for a buried soul the living sell; | |
| While on our path bewildered falls the night; | |
| That ne’er returns us to the fields of light. | | | | |
|
|
