 | Poems: New and Old |  |
[Enter a Veiled Figure, who stands over against the
drowsing Youth and speaks.]
Seek not to lift my veil, ask not my name.
I have no name—I am the spirit's breath,
The soul's own blood, the secret spring of life.
O Child of Earth and Sky, lighten thine eyes,
See what thou art in truth—no fading flower,
No beast of prey, no dust enjoying dust,
No fluttering thing for mere salvation wild,
No passing shadow on the dial of Time—
What, then? Look in thy heart; what life hast thou
That dust and shadows lack, what life beyond
The life of flower or beast? Have these the power
To live for something greater, to resign
Even in the sunlit moment of their strength
Their separate being?
I have no name—I am the spirit's breath,
The soul's own blood, the secret spring of life.
O Child of Earth and Sky, lighten thine eyes,
See what thou art in truth—no fading flower,
No beast of prey, no dust enjoying dust,
No fluttering thing for mere salvation wild,
No passing shadow on the dial of Time—
What, then? Look in thy heart; what life hast thou
That dust and shadows lack, what life beyond
The life of flower or beast? Have these the power
To live for something greater, to resign
Even in the sunlit moment of their strength
Their separate being?
I am that which bids thee
Die and outlive thyself: I am the Voice
That all thy heroes heard. When their long toil
Bowed down their burning shoulders, when they built
Thy peace with their despair, when bitter seas
Rolled over them, when battle broke their hearts
This was their life in death—then, then they heard
My voice, their voice, the voice within them, saying
“All's lost, all's won; the gift is perfected!”
[The Veiled Figure remains standing at the back of
the scene.]
Die and outlive thyself: I am the Voice
That all thy heroes heard. When their long toil
Bowed down their burning shoulders, when they built
Thy peace with their despair, when bitter seas
Rolled over them, when battle broke their hearts
This was their life in death—then, then they heard
119
“All's lost, all's won; the gift is perfected!”
| Poems: New and Old | |