Friday, June 16, 2006

Enigma--Can YOU solve the Riddle?

'Twas whispered in Heaven, 'twas uttered in Hell,
And echo caught softly the sound as it fell;
In the confines of earth 'twas permitted to rest,
And the depth of the ocean its presence confessed;
'Twas seen in the lightning, 'twas heard in the thunder,
'Twill be found in the spheres when they're riven asunder;
'Twas given to man with his earliest breath,
It assists at his birth and attends him in death,
Presides o'er his happiness, honour, and health,
'Tis the prop of his house and the end of his wealth;
It begins every hope, every wish it must bound,
With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned;
In the heaps of the miser 'tis hoarded with care,
But is sure to be lost in the prodigal heir;
Without it the soldier and sailor may roam,
But woe to the wretch who expels it from home;
In the whispers of conscience it there will be found,
Nor e'er in the whirlwind of passion be drowned;
It softens the heart, and though deaf to the ear,
It will make it acutely and instantly hear;
But in shades let it rest, like an elegant flower,
Oh! breathe on it softly, it dies in an hour.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will continue to mull it over. As of now, I am stumped.

Anonymous said...

I confess: I looked the answer up on Google. But I only sort of understand it. :)

nic said...

i'm so confused

thebeloved said...

The answer is "H". Look at the sound/pronunciation and spelling included with h in the whole poem. Twas whispered in heaven... say the word "heaven" and there is an h sound but it is soft. The "h" is seen (but not heard) in the word lightning... the end of the word wealth... etc. Get it?

thebeloved said...

Hey, I thought it was really cool! hrmph.

Cecilia said...

I like it!

Deborah R Foucachon said...

Fun Colleen! :)

Anonymous said...

clever/tricky!
-Joel