The Power of Music

The Power of Music written by William Henry Davies

From "Songs of Joy", 1911

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O those sweet notes, so soft and faint; that seemed
  Locked up inside a thick walled house of stone;
And then that sudden rush of sound, as though
  The doors and windows were wide-open thrown.

Do with me, O sweet music, as thou wilt,
  I am thy slave to either laugh or weep;
Thy power can make thy slave a lover proud,
  Or friendless man that has no place to sleep.

I hear thy gentle whisper and again
  Hear ripples lap the quays of sheltered docks;
I hear thy thunder and it brings to mind
  Dark Colorado scaling his huge rocks.

I hear thy joyous cries and think of birds
  Delirious when the sun doth rise in May;
I hear thy moans and think me of poor cows
  That miss at night the calves they licked by day.

[ hear thee wail and think of that sad queen
  Who saw her lover's disappearing mast;
How she, who drank and wasted a rich pearl -
  To prove her love - was left to wail at last.

Do with me, O sweet Music, as thou wilt;
  Till even thou art robbed by jealous Sleep
Of those sweet senses thou hast forced from me -
  And I can neither laugh with thee nor weep.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.