317. Aloof by Christina Georgina Rossetti
b"CG Rossetti read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\\n\\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\\n\\n---------------------------------------------\\n\\nAloof\\nby Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 \\u2013 1894)\\n\\nThe irresponsive silence of the land,\\n The irresponsive sounding of the sea,\\n Speak both one message of one sense to me:\\u2014\\nAloof, aloof, we stand aloof, so stand\\nThou too aloof, bound with the flawless band\\n Of inner solitude; we bind not thee;\\n But who from thy self-chain shall set thee free?\\nWhat heart shall touch thy heart? What hand thy hand?\\nAnd I am sometimes proud and sometimes meek,\\n And sometimes I remember days of old\\nWhen fellowship seem'd not so far to seek,\\n And all the world and I seem'd much less cold,\\n And at the rainbow's foot lay surely gold,\\nAnd hope felt strong, and life itself not weak.\\n\\nFirst aired: 11 August 2008\\n\\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\\n\\nReading \\xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2008"