Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

Where Helen Sits

Where Helen sits, the darkness is so deep,
  No golden sunbeam strikes athwart the gloom;
No mother’s smile, no glance of loving eyes,
  Lightens the shadow of that lonely room.

Yet the clear whiteness of her radiant soul      
  Decks the dim walls, like angel vestments shed.
The lovely light of holy innocence
  Shines like a halo round her bended head,
          Where Helen sits.

Where Helen sits, the stillness is so deep,        
  No children’s laughter comes, no song of bird.
The great world storms along its noisy way,
  But in this place no sound is ever heard.

Yet do her gentle thoughts make melody
  Sweeter than aught from harp or viol flung;      
And Love and Beauty, quiring each to each,
  Sing as the stars of Eden’s morning sung,
          Where Helen sits.