Madmoments: or First Verseattempts By a Bornnatural. Addressed to the Lightheaded of Society at Large, by Henry Ellison |
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WHAT MAKES US RICH. |
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 | Madmoments: or First Verseattempts |  |
WHAT MAKES US RICH.
1.
That which we consciously possess aloneIs ours, that only is real Wealth: of all
That lavish Fortune wastes on us, how small
A Portion can be truly called our own!
Beyond Life's simpler Wants, supplied, that on
High Cares the Soul may dwell, all that we call
Our own, is not possessed: the splendid Hall
And Banquet we can scarce enjoy for one
Feastnight, and quicker than the Flowers, which
Festooned the walls, they fade from Memory!
Such things may make us seem a moment rich,
But only seem; they serve but to bewitch
The Sense: real Blessings are not for the Eye,
They ask a sober Soul, far 'neath the surface lie
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2.
Their Roots, both sound and deep must be too: theyMust firmly grasp this common Earth whereon
We live, and from which we can raise alone
The daily Bread for which each Heart should pray,
Its most familiar Affections: yea!
For from these only 'neath the blessed Sun
Man's happiness is drawn; else God has done
Wrongly to frame us thus, and bid us say,
«Our Father» even to himself, before
All meaner Names! what is a Bible bound
With Gold, to him who feels its blessed Lore,
Its Meaning? it exists not — he has found
The one true vein of Life's enriching ore,
And with that neither wants, nor wishes more!
3.
And tell me onceagain, oh! what is allThe Pomp and Glitter of the World, to one
Who feels its Meaning, lives in that alone
Full of this sublime Consciousness! how small,
How worthless in his sight, could he recall
Its nothingness to mind, while gazing on
The golden Stars, hung like bright Lamps upon
The Pillars of this vast and skydomed Hall,
Which is his Dwellingplace, howpoorsoe'er
He be, a Palace beyond that of Kings!
Yea! more: a Temple, where throughout the year
Each Day's a Sabbath, and where he can hear
The Preacher preaching ever, and where Spring's
Own Hand unto the mighty Altar brings
The Wreath, which Earth doth in his honour wear!
4.
Yea! it is worthless, as to him may beThe golden Binding, who kneels down and prays
And thinking only of his Mission, says
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Then seek? the inner wealth, which makes us free
And godlike! 'till all else seems drossy, base,
Unfit of during Worth to take the Trace.
What is it we possess most consciously,
At all Times, in all Places, ever on
The same? our Minds, our Hearts, our ownselves! yea!
These make us rich: and he is so alone,
Who o'er himself hath gained a complete Sway,
O'er his own Thoughts! he who feels not his own
Self, consciously, exists not one may say.
Possess thyself then consciously: thus thou
Wilt have, and be, the Godlike which thou art,
For God's own Spirit dwells in thee e'en now;
And feeling this, what more can human Heart
Desire? for where God is, is Heaven too;
And what have earthly things, where heavenly are, to do?
| Madmoments: or First Verseattempts | |