A Child of the People And Other Poems. By James Chapman Woods |
 |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
|
THE SONG OF THE EARTH. |
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
 | A Child of the People |  |
118
THE SONG OF THE EARTH.
“Then Azrael said unto his fellow, as they crossed the orbit of
the sun, ‘Let us hearken to the song of the earth! Her song is the
sum of all her voices, yet her cry is unto God!’”
With the world of stars in spanless orbits swinging,
To the Godward spaces greater than my skies,
In the darkness, in the daylight I am singing,
And the darkness and the daylight are my eyes;
For they lighten when a star sends back rehearsal,
And they darken as it dies along the sea;
For the light is elemental, universal,
But the daylight and the darkness are of me.
To the Godward spaces greater than my skies,
In the darkness, in the daylight I am singing,
And the darkness and the daylight are my eyes;
For they lighten when a star sends back rehearsal,
And they darken as it dies along the sea;
For the light is elemental, universal,
But the daylight and the darkness are of me.
I remember when the light-wave rolled unto me,
To my soul came fitful thunders, fiery gleams
Of a momentary glory flashing through me,
Setting lightnings for the pauses of my dreams.
I remember that the flame of my first seeing
Fell on worlds that moved around me in a throng,
And the earliest breath indrawn into my being
Was the last sob of an æon of their song.
To my soul came fitful thunders, fiery gleams
Of a momentary glory flashing through me,
Setting lightnings for the pauses of my dreams.
I remember that the flame of my first seeing
Fell on worlds that moved around me in a throng,
And the earliest breath indrawn into my being
Was the last sob of an æon of their song.
119
Then they hailed me new-born sister, fairest blossom
That God's touch had ever kissed out of His deep,
For whose trances had the vastness been a bosom,
With all planets for the warders of her sleep;
Saying, “Hail, O fairest star-birth of the ocean!
Long thy pathway has lain silent 'mid thy peers;
Now, new thrilling with the music of thy motion,
Swell the pæan of our immemorial years!”
That God's touch had ever kissed out of His deep,
For whose trances had the vastness been a bosom,
With all planets for the warders of her sleep;
Saying, “Hail, O fairest star-birth of the ocean!
Long thy pathway has lain silent 'mid thy peers;
Now, new thrilling with the music of thy motion,
Swell the pæan of our immemorial years!”
Then life burned along my being, as the lightning
Kindles all the sullen storm-wrack where it runs,
And I saw the clouds withdrawing, lifting, brightening,
To the dazzling heights where God-illumined suns
Hid the mainspring of my life from my discerning,—
Hid the law that sets the limits, sways the psalm
Of the myriad worlds, in various orbits turning
On the pivot of His everlasting calm.
Kindles all the sullen storm-wrack where it runs,
And I saw the clouds withdrawing, lifting, brightening,
To the dazzling heights where God-illumined suns
Hid the mainspring of my life from my discerning,—
Hid the law that sets the limits, sways the psalm
Of the myriad worlds, in various orbits turning
On the pivot of His everlasting calm.
Then the clouds drew, drooping, deadening, o'er that wonder,
And the mask of that Divineness shone no more.
Now I can but guess the secret from the thunder,
Or the music of the air-waves on my shore;
And I wander, singing ever, singing ever
To the measures of the choric path I tread,
With a restless heart which nothing can dissever
From its kinship with the glory overhead.
And the mask of that Divineness shone no more.
Now I can but guess the secret from the thunder,
Or the music of the air-waves on my shore;
And I wander, singing ever, singing ever
To the measures of the choric path I tread,
With a restless heart which nothing can dissever
From its kinship with the glory overhead.
120
For my heart hath fiery motions, adorations,
Yearnings upward, growths to godlike, past control,
That will burst at last these measured modulations,
And up-buoy me to the height of my own soul.
And the mystery in rapture shall have ending;
Nay, not ending, but beginning it shall be,
When I see the clouds unclosing, lightening, rending,
And I whirl into the glory where is He!
Yearnings upward, growths to godlike, past control,
That will burst at last these measured modulations,
And up-buoy me to the height of my own soul.
And the mystery in rapture shall have ending;
Nay, not ending, but beginning it shall be,
When I see the clouds unclosing, lightening, rending,
And I whirl into the glory where is He!
| A Child of the People | |