noon
Robert heard him cough , then the door shut , and he was gone in the rain and fog . Bewildered , unhappy , ready to fly after him , yet irresolute , Robert almost mechanically turned over the papers upon the little deal table . He was soon arrested by the following verses , headed : A NOONDAY MELODY . Everything goes to its rest ; The hills are asleep in the noon ; And life is as still in its nest As the moon when she looks on a moon In the depths of a calm river 's breast As it steals through a midnight in June . The streams have forgotten the sea In the dream of their musical sound ; The sunlight is thick on the tree , And the shadows lie warm on the ground -- So still , you may watch them and see Every breath that awakens around . The churchyard lies still in the heat , With its handful of mouldering bone ; As still as the long stalk of wheat In the shadow that sits by the stone , As still as the grass at my feet When I walk in the meadows alone . The waves are asleep on the main , And the ships are asleep on the wave ; And the thoughts are as still in my brain As the echo that sleeps in the cave ; All rest from their labour and pain -- Then why should not I in my grave ?