 | ["The winds of heaven trample down the pines", in] California Anthology : or Striking Thoughts on Many Themes |  |
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[The winds of heaven trample down the pines]
The winds of heaven trample down the pines,
Or creep in lazy tides along the lea;
Leap the wild waters from the smitten rock,
Or crawl with childish babble to the sea;
But why the tempests out of heaven blow,
Or what the purpose of the seaward flow,
No man hath known, and none shall ever know.
Or creep in lazy tides along the lea;
Leap the wild waters from the smitten rock,
Or crawl with childish babble to the sea;
But why the tempests out of heaven blow,
Or what the purpose of the seaward flow,
No man hath known, and none shall ever know.
Why seek to know? To follow Nature up
Against the current to her source, why care?
Vain is the toil; he's wisest still who knows
All science is but formulated prayer—
Prayer for the warm winds and the quickening rain,
Prayer for sharp sickle and for laboring wain,
To gather from the planted past the grain.—
Against the current to her source, why care?
Vain is the toil; he's wisest still who knows
All science is but formulated prayer—
Prayer for the warm winds and the quickening rain,
Prayer for sharp sickle and for laboring wain,
To gather from the planted past the grain.—
A. G. Bierce.
| ["The winds of heaven trample down the pines", in] California Anthology : or Striking Thoughts on Many Themes | |