“No Message” is an Australian poem written by Mary Hannay Foott (1846-1918)

She heard the story of the end,
 Each message, too, she heard;
And there was one for every friend;
    For her alone — no word.

And shall she bear a heavier heart,
    And deem his love was fled;
Because his soul from earth could part
    Leaving her name unsaid?

No — No! — Though neither sign nor sound
    A parting thought expressed —
Not heedless passed the Homeward-Bound
    Of her he loved the best.

Of voyage-perils, bravely borne,
    He would not tell the tale;
Of shattered planks and canvas torn,
    And war with wind and gale.

He waited till the light-house star
    Should rise against the sky;
And from the mainland, looming far,
    The forest scents blow by.

He hoped to tell — assurance sweet! —
    That pain and grief were o’er —
What blessings haste the soul to meet,
    Ere yet within the door.

Then one farewell he thought to speak
    When all the rest were past —
As in the parting-hour we seek
    The dearest hand the last.

And while for this delaying but
    To see Heaven’s opening Gate —
Lo, it received him — and was shut —
    Ere he could say “I wait.”

About the Author

See our page on Mary Hannay F oott. Includes a linked list of all her writing available on our website.