In Memory Of . . .

When some beloved voice that was to you
Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly,
And silence against which you dare not cry,
Aches round you like a strong disease and new-
What hope? What help? What music will undo
That silence to your sense? Not friendship's sigh,
Nor reason's subtle count . . . .
Nay, none of these,
Speak, Thou, availing Christ! - and fill this pause.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Substitution"