 | The Poems of Mackenzie Bell |  |
THE BOY COLERIDGE TO HIMSELF.
“O capacious soul!”
Wordsworth, The Prelude, Book xiv.
“I wonder wherefore?” is the soul-stirred cry
Which wells up from the depths of human hearts
In every sphere of life—from lowly homes
And princely palaces—from hermit cells
And seething crowds—from youth and riper age
And longest length of years—from rich and poor
From all who have the manliness to think—
In health or sickness—happiness or woe—
In Life's supremest moments or its trifles
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Incessant questioning is surely meant
As greatest food for hope—a token given
That, notwithstanding its abyss of sin,
Within man's soul the germs of good abide.
Mysterious are the links that firmly weld
Our trains of thought together. First we brood
On some small trivial matter—now the germ
Of musings somewhat loftier—then behold
A thread is woven with our thought, and lo
It leads to higher themes!—vast vistas new
For serious contemplation:—and we gain
Sublimest heights, as God-reflected thoughts
Transcending reason throng our kindled minds.
| The Poems of Mackenzie Bell | |