 | Poems by James Rhoades |  |
133
XIX.
[Man stands apart from Nature; he is lord]
Man stands apart from Nature; he is lord
Of all that herein is, or seems to be:
No beauty that he lacks can earth afford,
No secret knows the immeasurable sea.
Of all that herein is, or seems to be:
No beauty that he lacks can earth afford,
No secret knows the immeasurable sea.
Our first experience from her lips we learn:
Yet will she her own weakness not disguise,
But lifts us in her arms, till we discern
The unimagin'd, that beyond her lies.
Yet will she her own weakness not disguise,
But lifts us in her arms, till we discern
The unimagin'd, that beyond her lies.
Such is her task, and else she had not been:
To this end the winds breathe and waters roll—
Should our own fondness raise a barrier-screen,
Or seek to bound the illimitable Soul,
To this end the winds breathe and waters roll—
Should our own fondness raise a barrier-screen,
Or seek to bound the illimitable Soul,
Up Reason! break the chain, fool-Fancy wrought,
And strike into the very Vast of Thought.
And strike into the very Vast of Thought.
| Poems by James Rhoades | |