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WHAT IS A POEM?, by                    
First Line: Ask him who knows the secret of the seed
Last Line: "a mounting step on stairs that lead -- to god."
Subject(s): Poetry & Poets


Ask him who knows the secret of the seed
That germinates within the womb of earth;
What force is back of all transcendent need
To bring a fragile blossom into birth.

Ask him who bears the burden of the sun,
Who wears a shawl of stars about his shoulder,
Where silver threads of moonlight mist are spun;
Ask him who is as old as Time -- and older.

Ask him whose mouth has known the kiss of danger,
Who knows no alien heart, nor ever will;
Ask him who makes a friend of every stranger
And keeps a tryst with Life beyond the hill.

And if, perchance, you are a kindred soul
He'll point you back to pathways he has trod
And say to you -- "A Poem is a goal,
A mounting step on stairs that lead -- to God."





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