Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE TEMPLE OF NATURE, by ARTHUR PETERSON Poet's Biography First Line: In the clear air of field and wood Last Line: Thyself shalt light the century! Subject(s): Nature | ||||||||
1 In the clear air of field and wood, In the tall mountain's solitude, God speaketh to the willing mood. Go forth, and, in that lonelier hour, Thou shalt be conscious of a power Which lives within the mountain breeze, And broods above the forest's trees, And which, through forms of earth and sky, Shall lift thee, by its sympathy, So far above the thoughts that wound Thy commoner nature into strife, That thou, in that serener life, Shalt deem thou treadest holy ground. And thou shalt learn a lesson new -- That what thy spirit says is true. That the exulting hills, which rear Their heads above the storm-clouds' reach, Are to the airs of Heaven more near Than deftly-measured angles teach; That the faint wood-path oft leads on To shrines where dwells the Holy One; That oft, too, eve's transfigured skies Reflect the shapes of Paradise. What earth-born or polluting thought Can live before the mountain wind? What sad doubts but must come to naught When thou, at midnight's hour, dost find The message which the stars have brought? A willow waving in the sun O'er thy distress hath victory won; And when the hermit pine-tree flings His fingers o'er the tuneful strings And, with a solemn sweetness, sings, The demons of the world must flee, Exorcised by his psalmody. 2 Seldom is born the mystic seer Within the city's atmosphere; Not often from its smoke and slime Rise up the men who lead their time -- The spirits fearless and sublime Whom God has given unto man, Expounders of His perfect plan -- Bright suns round whom the centuries Revolve like planets in the skies; Centres of systems which still roll, Types of the many-sided soul. Far from the fret of town and mart, Poet and prophet dwell apart. Out from the sacred solitude Of Indian forests came the Buddh; Beside the Sutlej, wild and strong Rose up, in that rude, primal tongue, The bright-haired Aryan prophet's song; On Hara's mount Mohammed heard Alkoran's trump-delivered word; And in the desert's twilight hush The Lord spoke from the burning bush To him who, learned in Egypt's lore, Led Israel forth from Egypt's shore. 3 Go forth into the air, the word Of God upon its wings is borne, And, in the ever-sacred morn, Thou, in thy solitude, shalt hear What the old saints and sages heard. And, tranced in that diviner sphere, If thou dost list on bended knee, If thou dost heed most reverently, Perchance still further shalt thou see Than they into the mystery. Thyself may be the messenger Whom God shall choose new truth to bear, Thyself shalt share the ecstasy, Thyself mankind shalt glorify, Thyself shalt light the century! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...INTERRUPTED MEDITATION by ROBERT HASS TWO VIEWS OF BUSON by ROBERT HASS THE FATALIST: HOME by LYN HEJINIAN WRITING IS AN AID TO MEMORY: 17 by LYN HEJINIAN LET US GATHER IN A FLOURISHING WAY by JUAN FELIPE HERRERA IN MICHAEL ROBINS?ÇÖS CLASS MINUS ONE by HICOK. BOB BREADTH. CIRCLE. DESERT. MONARCH. MONTH. WISDOM by JOHN HOLLANDER VARIATIONS: 16 by CONRAD AIKEN UNHOLY SONNET 13 by MARK JARMAN A CLOUD FANCY by ARTHUR PETERSON |
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