Page:Poems, Savage, 1882.djvu/45

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LIFE'S WONDER

Oh, wonder of the world, whose surface bright Fills wide-eyed childhood with a fresh delight! Beneath the surface, to exploring eyes, Deep yawns to deep, and heights on heights arise. Each grass-blade and each gaseous atom holds An infinite mystery, that his thought unfolds Who knows each molecule the kinsman is Of every star-ray piercing the abyss. And not one lowly blossom in the vale But to the instructed ear can tell a tale, Whose opening chapter was the eternal past, And is not done while endless ages last. Short is his fathom-line who thinks he sounds And finds it shallow-being's dread profounds. The emptiness is in the pool that lies Too shoal to hold the stars and boundless skies. Oh, when I look upon the laughing face Of children, or on woman's gentle grace; Or when I grasp a true friend by the hand, And feel a bond I partly understand; 39

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