 | The Stranger at the Gate |  |
THE GHOSTLY BROTHER
[Description: The page layout of the second page of the poem "The Ghostly
Brother".]
[Description: The page layout of the third page of the poem "The Ghostly
Brother".]
BROTHER, Brother calling me
Like a distant surfy sea,
Like a wind that moans and grieves
All night long about the eaves;
Let me rest a little span;
Long I've followed, followed fast;
Now I wish to be a man,
Disconnected from the Vast!
Let me stop a little while,
Feel this snug world's pulses beat,
Glory in a baby's smile,
Hear it prattle round my feet;
Eat and sleep and love and live,
Thankful ever for the dawn;
Wanting what the world can give—
With the cosmic curtains drawn!
Like a distant surfy sea,
Like a wind that moans and grieves
All night long about the eaves;
Let me rest a little span;
Long I've followed, followed fast;
Now I wish to be a man,
Disconnected from the Vast!
Let me stop a little while,
Feel this snug world's pulses beat,
Glory in a baby's smile,
Hear it prattle round my feet;
Eat and sleep and love and live,
Thankful ever for the dawn;
Wanting what the world can give—
With the cosmic curtains drawn!
Brother, Brother, break the gyves!
Burst the prison, Son of Power!
Product of forgotten lives,
Seedling of the final flower!
What to you are nights and days,
Drifting snow or rainy flaw,
Love or hate or blame or praise—
Heir unto the Outer Awe?
Burst the prison, Son of Power!
Product of forgotten lives,
Seedling of the final flower!
What to you are nights and days,
Drifting snow or rainy flaw,
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Heir unto the Outer Awe?
I am breathless from the flight
Through the speed-cleft, awful night!
Panting, let me rest awhile
In this pleasant aether-isle.
Here, content with little things,
How the witless dweller sings!
Rears his brood and steers his plow,
Nursing at the breasts of Now.
Here the meanest, yea, the slave
Claims the heirloom of a grave!
Oh, this little world is blest—
Brother, Brother, let me rest!
Through the speed-cleft, awful night!
Panting, let me rest awhile
In this pleasant aether-isle.
Here, content with little things,
How the witless dweller sings!
Rears his brood and steers his plow,
Nursing at the breasts of Now.
Here the meanest, yea, the slave
Claims the heirloom of a grave!
Oh, this little world is blest—
Brother, Brother, let me rest!
I am you and you are I!
When the world is cherished most,
You shall hear my haunting cry,
See me rising like a ghost.
I am all that you have been,
Are not now, but soon shall be!
Thralled awhile by dust and din—
Brother, Brother, follow me!
When the world is cherished most,
You shall hear my haunting cry,
See me rising like a ghost.
I am all that you have been,
Are not now, but soon shall be!
Thralled awhile by dust and din—
Brother, Brother, follow me!
'Tis a lonesome, endless quest;
I am weary; I would rest.
Though I seek to fly from you,
Like a shadow, you pursue.
Do I love? You share the kiss,
Leaving only half the bliss.
Do I conquer? You are there,
Claiming half the victor's share.
When the night shades fray and lift,
'Tis your veiled face lights the rift.
In the sighing of the rain,
Your voice goads me like a pain.
Happy in a narrow trust,
Let me serve the lesser will
One brief hour—and then, to dust!
Oh, the dead are very still!
I am weary; I would rest.
Though I seek to fly from you,
Like a shadow, you pursue.
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Leaving only half the bliss.
Do I conquer? You are there,
Claiming half the victor's share.
When the night shades fray and lift,
'Tis your veiled face lights the rift.
In the sighing of the rain,
Your voice goads me like a pain.
Happy in a narrow trust,
Let me serve the lesser will
One brief hour—and then, to dust!
Oh, the dead are very still!
Brother, Brother, follow hence!
Ours the wild, unflagging speed!
Through the outer walls of sense,
Follow, follow where I lead!
Love and hate and grief and fear—
'Tis the geocentric dream!
Only shadows linger here,
Cast by the eternal Gleam!
Follow, follow, follow fast!—
Somewhere out of Time and Place,
You shall lift the veil at last,
You shall look upon my face!
Look upon my face and die,
Solver of the Mystery!
I am you and you are I—
Brother, Brother, follow me!
Ours the wild, unflagging speed!
Through the outer walls of sense,
Follow, follow where I lead!
Love and hate and grief and fear—
'Tis the geocentric dream!
Only shadows linger here,
Cast by the eternal Gleam!
Follow, follow, follow fast!—
Somewhere out of Time and Place,
You shall lift the veil at last,
You shall look upon my face!
Look upon my face and die,
Solver of the Mystery!
I am you and you are I—
Brother, Brother, follow me!
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| The Stranger at the Gate | |