The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: I went to sleep

soul of gerontius I went to sleep and now I am refreshed. A strange refreshment: for I feel in me An inexpressive lightness, and a sense Of freedom, as I were at length myself, And ne'er had been before. How still it is! I hear no more the busy beat of time, No, nor my fluttering breath, nor struggling pulse Nor does one moment differ from the next. This silence pours a solitariness Into the very essence of my soul And the deep rest, so soothing and so sweet, Hath something too of sternness and of pain. Another marvel: someone has me fast Within his ample palm A uniform And gentle pressure tells me I am not Self-moving, but borne forward on my way. And hark! I hear a singing yet in sooth I cannot of that music rightly say Whether I hear, or touch, or taste the tones. Oh, what a heart-subduing melody! angel My work is done, My task is o'er, And so I come, Taking it home, For the crown is won, Alleluia, For evermore. My Father gave In charge to me This child of earth E'en from its birth, To serve and save, Alleluia, And saved is he. This child of clay To me was given, To rear and train By sorrow and pain In the narrow way, Alleluia, From earth to heaven. soul It is a member of that family Of wondrous beings, who, ere the worlds were made, Millions of ages back, have stood around The throne of God. I will address him. Mighty one, my Lord, My Guardian Spirit, all hail! angel All hail, my child! My child and brother, hail! what wouldest thou? soul I would have nothing but to speak with thee For speaking's sake. I wish to hold with thee Conscious communion though I fain would know A maze of things, were it but meet to ask, And not a curiousness. angel You cannot now Cherish a wish which ought not to be wished. soul Then I will speak. I ever had believed That on the moment when the struggling soul Quitted its mortal case, forthwith it fell Under the awful Presence of its God, There to be judged and sent to its own place. What lets me now from going to my Lord? angel Thou art not let but with extremest speed Art hurrying to the Just and Holy Judge. soul Dear Angel, say, Why have I now no fear at meeting Him? Along my earthly life, the thought of death And judgment was to me most terrible. angel It is because Then thou didst fear, that now thou dost not fear, Thou hast forestalled the agony, and so For thee the bitterness of death is passed. Also, because already in thy soul The judgment is begun. A presage falls upon thee, as a ray Straight from the Judge, expressive of thy lot. That calm and joy uprising in thy soul Is first-fruit to thee of thy recompense, And heaven begun. soul Now that the hour is come, my fear is fled And at this balance of my destiny, Now close upon me, I can forward look With a serenest joy.