Skip to content
1819–1891

An uninscribed Monument

Herman Melville

Silence and Solitude may hint ( Whose home is in yon piny wood ) What I, though tableted, could never tell — The din which here befell,

And striving of the multitude. The iron cones and spheres of death Set round me in their rust, These, too, if just,

Shall speak with more than animated breath. Thou who beholdest, if thy thought, Not narrowed down to personal cheer, Take in the import of the quiet here —

The after-quiet — the calm full fraught; Thou too wilt silent stand — Silent as I, and lonesome as the land.

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.
An uninscribed Monument · Herman Melville · Poetry Cove