No more my spirit can be shaken
From its calm and kingly rest!
Love hath shed its light around me,

Love hath pierced the shades that bound me;
Mine eyes are opened, I can see

The universe's mystery,

The mighty heart and core

Of After and Before

I see, and I am weak no more!

II.

Upward! upward evermore,
To Heaven's open gate I soar!
Little thoughts are far behind me,
Which, when custom weaves together,
All the nobler man can tether-
Cobwebs now no more can bind me!
Now fold thy wings a little while,
My tranced soul, and lie
At rest on this Calypso-isle
That floats in mellow sky,

A thousand isles with gentle motion
Rock upon the sunset ocean;

A thousand isles of thousand hues,
How bright! how beautiful! how rare!
Into my spirit they infuse.

A purer, a diviner air;

The earth is growing dimmer,
And now the last faint glimmer
Hath faded from the hill;
But in my higher atmosphere

The sun-light streameth red and clear,
Fringing the islets still; -

Love lifts us to the sun-light,

Though the whole world would be dark;
Love, wide Love, is the one light,

All else is but a fading spark

Love is the nectar which doth fill

Our soul's cup even to overflowing,

And, warming heart, and thought, and will,
Doth lie within us mildly glowing,

From its own centre raying out
Beauty and Truth on all without.

III.

Each on his golden throne,
Full royally, alone,

I see the stars above me,
With sceptre and with diadem ;
Mildly they look down and love me,
For I have ever yet loved them;
I see their ever-sleepless eyes
Watching the growth of destinies ;
Calm, sedate,

The eyes of Fate,

They wink not, nor do roll,
But search the depths of soul
And in those mighty depths they see.
The germs of all Futurity,
Waiting but the fitting time.
To burst and ripen into prime,
As in the womb of mother Earth
The seeds of plants and forests lie
Age upon age and never die

So in the souls of all men wait,

Undyingly the seeds of Fate;

Chance breaks the clod and forth they spring,

Filling blind men with wondering.

Eternal stars! with holy awe,

As if a present God I saw,
I look into those mighty eyes
And see great destinies arise,
As in those of mortal men
Feelings glow and fade again!
All things below, all things above,
Are open to the eyes of Love.

IV.

Of Knowledge Love is master-key,
Knowledge of Beauty; passing dear
Is each to each, and mutually
Each one doth make the other clear;
Beauty is Love, and what we love
Straightway is beautiful,

So is the circle round and full,

And so dear Love doth live and move
And have his being,

Finding his proper food
By sure inseeing,

In all things pure and good,
Which he at will doth cull,
Like a joyous butterfly

Hiving in the sunny bowers
Of the soul's fairest flowers,
Or, between the earth and sky,
Wandering at liberty

For happy, happy hours!

v.

The thoughts of Love are Poesy,
As this fair earth and all we see
Are the thoughts of Deity-
And Love is ours by our birthright!
He hath cleared mine inward sight;
Glorious shapes with glorious eyes
Round about my spirit glance,
Shedding a mild and golden light
On the shadowy face of Night;
To unearthly melodies,

Hand in hand, they weave their dance,
While a deep, ambrosial lustre

From their rounded limbs doth shine,
Through many a rich and golden cluster
Of streaming hair divine.

In our gross and earthly hours

We cannot see the Love-given powers
Which ever round the soul await

To do its sovereign will,

When, in its moments calm and still,

It re-assumes its royal state,

Nor longer sits with eyes downcast,
A beggar, dreaming of the past,
At its own palace-gate.

VI.

I too am a Maker and a Poet;

Through my whole soul I feel it and know it; My veins are fired with ecstasy!

All-mother Earth

Did ne'er give birth

To one who shall be matched with me;
The lustre of my coronal

Shall cast a dimness over all.

Alas! alas! what have I spoken?
My strong, my eagle wings are broken,
And back again to earth I fall!

SOMETHING NATURAL.

I.

WHEN first I saw thy soul-deep eyes,
My heart yearned to thee instantly,
Strange longing in my soul did rise;
I cannot tell the reason why,
But I must love thee till I die.

II.

The sight of thee hath well-nigh grown As needful to me as the light;

I am unrestful when alone,

And my heart doth not beat aright

Except it dwell within thy sight.

III.

And yet
I am not happy even with thee;

and yet - O selfish love!

I see thee in thy brightness move,
And cannot well contented be,

Save thou should'st shine alone for me.

IV.

We should love beauty even as flowers For all, 't is said, they bud and blow, They are the world's as well as ours But thou alas! God made thee grow So fair, I cannot love thee so!

A FEELING.

THE flowers and the grass to me
Are eloquent reproachfully;

For would they wave so pleasantly

Or look so fresh and fair,

If a man, cunning, hollow, mean,
Or one in anywise unclean,
Were looking on them there?

No; he hath grown so foolish-wise
He cannot see with childhood's eyes;
He hath forgot that purity

And lowliness which are the key
Of Nature's mysteries;

No; he hath wandered off so long
From his own place of birth,

That he hath lost his mother-tongue,
And, like one come from far-off lands,
Forgetting and forgot, he stands
Beside his mother's hearth.

THE LOST CHILD.

I.

I WANDERED down the sunny glade
And ever mused, my love, of thee;
My thoughts, like little children, played,
As gayly and as guilelessly.

II.

If any chanced to go astray,

Moaning in fear of coming harms, Hope brought the wanderer back alway, Safe nestled in her snowy arms.

III.

From that soft nest the happy one
Looked up at me and calmly smiled;

Its hair shone golden in the sun,

And made it seem a heavenly child.

IV.

Dear Hope's blue eyes smiled mildly down,
And blest it with a love so deep,

That, like a nursling of her own,
It clasped her neck and fell asleep.