A Voice From the Far Away

I heard a voice from the far away Softly say this to me — “You will find the heart of the world some day And the why of the things that be;

You will see the grief of the yea and nay And the price of frailty. “And upon your lute you will weave a theme Which the world will harken and know;

For every note of the song will teem With a great soul's overflow — You will speak the meaning within a dream And the pain in the afterglow.

“But for all of this there's a price — ‘ Tis the price of minstrelsy — You will never have of the things you play, Sad singer of poetry,

And throughout your life you will go for aye, Heart-hungry and silently!” I heard a voice from the far away Softly say this to me.