THE SOUL'S SPLENDOR

A gamekeeper's stray shot suddenly breaks
The evening silence, then the dogs respond,
And up the steep hill's moist and rutted road
The wagon's weary horses toil and strain.
An ancient beech tree is beside me, broad in girth,
Its roots all enriched with moss,
While up the wooded view of the hill
The bushes alone make the wanderer's path dark.
Blessed be this undergrowth! May rain and dew
Increase it still. Blessed be the tranquil breeze
Which, after fragrant showers, has blown across
Those dark hills which ring the country around,
And blessed be this autumn sky, clothed now
With spring's pure freshness! So the soul assumes
A priestly role; to the evening sky
Her solemn greeting here ascends,
Invokes, and blesses. Here the peace outside
Creates peace within; the profound peace within
Makes a deeper peace outside than Nature knows,
Except in the mystical balance equipoise of man's
Immortal part with her essential life,
Which benefits both, and both find rest therein,
In common bliss, each dependent on the other
And unified. "Sweet Spirit of the sky"—
So speaks the Soul, vibrating, filled with song—
"The peace of God over all your broad expanse
Be spread forever! May your wandering clouds,
Which carry the coolness and the showers of God
From zone to zone to freshen every field,
To swell the streams and seas, clothe you
With new beauties! May each returning night,
With one new star, more bright than all before,
Enrich your gem-set crown with silvery light,
Clear and cleanse your bright spaces,
As if with the mildness lenity and grace of God.
Oh, may your peace and beauty's fair increase
Distill on human hearts in shower and dew!
May all bright eyes lifted beneath your gaze
Be filled with your azure and your silvery argent beams,
Softened and melted toward love's mildest mood,
Yet reflect your full joy in every glance."

Ascending still this winding woodland road,
Above the fire of the West
I see your gentle blue transfigure to golden green
Like things in a dream. Then it seems...