Classic Poem

When it is night and the house is still,
When it is day and guests are gone,
When the lights and colors and sounds that fill
Leave the house empty and you alone:

Then you hear them stir — you hear them shift —
You hear them through the walls and floors —
And the door-knobs turn and the latches lift
On the closet doors.

Then you try to read and you try to think,
And you try to work — but the hour is late;
No play nor labor nor meat nor drink
Will make them wait.

Well for you if the locks are good!
Well for you if the bolts are strong,
And the panels heavy with oaken wood,
And the chamber long.

Even so you can hear them plead —
Hear them argue — hear them moan —
When the house is very still indeed,
And you are alone.

Blessed then is a step outside,
Warm hands to hold you, eyes that smile,
The stir and noise of a world that's wide,
To silence yours for a little while.

Fill your life with work and play!
Fill you heart with joy and pain!
Hold your friends while they will stay,
Silent so shall these remain.

But you can hear them when you hark —
Things you wish you had not known —
When the house is very still and dark,
And you are alone.