No Friend Like Music

There is no whispering of any friend,
  No solace that can touch the quivering heart
In that lone hour when a sudden end
  Has captured laughter and there falls apart
A rainbow that has bridged a distant hill;
  When roses shatter on the stem, and dark
Crowds out the candle's shimmering flame and still
  The night creeps on with neither torch nor spark.

No friend like music when the last word's spoken
  And every pleading is a plea in vain;
No friend like music when the heart is broken,
  To mend its wings and give it flight again;
No friend like music, breaking chains and bars
To let the soul march with the quiet stars!

--Daniel Whitehead Hicky