| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | Life and Death (I.) | | By Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813–1892) |
| | | O SOLEMN portal, veiled in mist and cloud, | |
| Where all who have lived throng in, an endless line, | |
| Forbid to tell by backward look or sign | |
| What destiny awaits the advancing crowd; | |
| Bourne crossed but once with no return allowed; | 5 |
| Dumb, spectral gate, terrestrial yet divine, | |
| Beyond whose arch all powers and fates combine, | |
| Pledged to divulge no secrets of the shroud. | |
| Close, close behind we step, and strive to catch | |
| Some whisper in the dark, some glimmering light; | 10 |
| Through circling whirls of thought intent to snatch | |
| A drifting hope—a faith that grows to sight; | |
| And yet assured, whatever may befall, | |
| That must be somehow best that comes to all. | | | | |
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