Earth Voices Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929) I I heard the spring wind whisper Above the brushwood fire, The world is made forever Of transport and desire. I am the breath of being, The primal urge of things; I am the whirl of star dust, I am the lift of wings. I am the splendid impulse That comes before the thought, The joy and exaltation Wherein the life is caught. Across the sleeping furrows I call the buried seed, And blade and bud and blossom Awaken at my need. Within the dying ashes I blow the sacred spark, And make the hearts of lovers To leap against the dark. II I heard the spring light whisper Above the dancing stream, The world is made forever In likeness of a dream. I am the law of planets, I am the guide of man; The evening and the morning Are fashioned to my plan. I tint the dawn with crimson, I tinge the sea with blue; My track is in the desert, My trail is in the dew. I paint the hills with color, And in my magic dome I light the star of evening To steer the traveller home. Within the house of being, I feed the lamp of truth With tales of ancient wisdom And prophecies of youth. III I heard the spring rain murmur Above the roadside flower, The world is made forever In melody and power. I keep the rhythmic measure That marks the steps of time, And all my toil is fashioned To symmetry and rhyme. I plow the untilled upland, I ripe the seeding grass, And fill the leafy forest With music as I pass. I hew the raw, rough granite To loveliness of line, And when my work is finished, Behold, it is divine! I am the master-builder In whom the ages trust. I lift the lost perfection To blossom from the dust. IV Then Earth to them made answer, As with a slow refrain Born of the blended voices Of wind and sun and rain, This is the law of being That links the threefold chain: The life we give to beauty Returns to us again.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:59:57 +0000