The poems of Madison Cawein | ||
313
BEAUTY AND ART
The gods are dead; but still for me
Lives on in wildwood brook and tree
Each myth, each old divinity.
Lives on in wildwood brook and tree
Each myth, each old divinity.
For me still laughs among her rocks
The Naiad; and the Dryad's locks
Drop perfume on the wildflower flocks.
The Naiad; and the Dryad's locks
Drop perfume on the wildflower flocks.
The Satyr's hoof still prints the loam;
And, whiter than the wind-blown foam,
The Oread haunts her mountain home.
And, whiter than the wind-blown foam,
The Oread haunts her mountain home.
To him, whose mind is fain to dwell
With loveliness no time can quell,
All things are real, imperishable.
With loveliness no time can quell,
All things are real, imperishable.
To him—whatever facts may say—
Who sees the soul beneath the clay,
Is proof of a diviner day.
Who sees the soul beneath the clay,
Is proof of a diviner day.
The very stars and flowers preach
A gospel old as God, and teach
Philosophy a child may reach;
A gospel old as God, and teach
Philosophy a child may reach;
314
That can not die; that shall not cease;
That lives through idealities
Of Beauty, ev'n as Rome and Greece:
That lives through idealities
Of Beauty, ev'n as Rome and Greece:
That lifts the soul above the clod,
And, working out some period
Of art, is part and proof of God.
And, working out some period
Of art, is part and proof of God.
The poems of Madison Cawein | ||