The Silent Folk by Charles Wharton Stork. Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. 1922. The Second Book of Modern Verse

Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Second Book of Modern Verse. 1922.

The Silent Folk

Charles Wharton Stork


OH, praise me not the silent folk;
To me they only seem
Like leafless, bird-abandoned oak
And muffled, frozen stream.

I want the leaves to talk and tell	5
The joy that’s in the tree,
And water-nymphs to weave a spell
Of pixie melody.

Your silent folk may be sincere,
But still, when all is said,	10
We have to grant they’re rather drear,—
And maybe, too, they’re dead.