O waters of Iona crisp and pure!
O snowy sands from some Ægean shore!
Whisper to me now and end the yearning
Of a thousand years of pious learning.
What sweet melodies await us after
We are lain in earth, what joys, what laughter?
A waking dream! We know not when we sleep,
Tomorrow’s dead today their silence keep!
Beautiful
Terribly good, my friend. I would remove the postamble. Carlyle said: “Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity.”
You’ve captured the spirit of Iona well, at least when the last tourists have departed.