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203

“GOD'S HOLIEST SHRINE”

SONNET

Through woman's body of beauty and of grace,
Through this, this only, man can reach the fair
Soft robe of fragrance that the meadows wear
And kiss the sweetness of the morning's face.
God's Bride, the universe, will stoop to place
If man be willing, if he nobly dare,
Her wealth unending in his hands. The hair
We worship thrills no spirit lewd or base.
The infinite sweetness of the body of earth,
Of stars, of planets countless and divine,
Alone through woman's sweetness can be won.
Man, with a vast unutterable mirth,
This winning, wins the glory of the sun
And, sun-crowned, worships in God's holiest shrine.
July 30, 1901.