Original artwork, not a still
The Old Clock on the Stairs • 1845
Never here, forever there, Where all parting, pain, and care, And death, and time shall disappear,— Forever there, but never here! The horologe of Eternity Sayeth this incessantly,— “Forever — never! Never — forever!”
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The verse contrasts two places: a lasting home beyond, where parting, pain, care, death and time vanish, and the present world, where none of that ends. A clock's voice repeats 'forever' and 'never' in alternation, turning eternity and earthly life into a solemn, insistent refrain.
Context reviewed
