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Themes and Variations
THE SOUL AND NATURE
‘Whose is this image and superscription?’
I.
When I consider the heavens, the glorious spheres
Knit by the ever-circling threads of light,
Like beads upon the morning gossamers,
That float and glisten in the web of night—
From those far lands a whisper seems to rise,
Like whispers In a forest land of sighs—
O son ofman! In nature’s boundless sway.
Knit by the ever-circling threads of light,
Like beads upon the morning gossamers,
That float and glisten in the web of night—
From those far lands a whisper seems to rise,
Like whispers In a forest land of sighs—
O son ofman! In nature’s boundless sway.
What is thy feeble, passing spark of day?—
A leaf that falls at breath of icy wind;
A wave that lifts, and pauses on the shore;
A bird that, singing, flies from clouds behind,
And, silent, falls in deeper clouds before.
A leaf that falls at breath of icy wind;
A wave that lifts, and pauses on the shore;
A bird that, singing, flies from clouds behind,
And, silent, falls in deeper clouds before.
II.
Not so; though dust we are, to dust is given
Gems from a king, more prized than moon or star;
He gave the eye, to hold the span of heaven;
Thoughts to contain the rising worlds afar,
And from our homely planet’s school we rise,
To read the shining letters of the skies.
Gems from a king, more prized than moon or star;
He gave the eye, to hold the span of heaven;
Thoughts to contain the rising worlds afar,
And from our homely planet’s school we rise,
To read the shining letters of the skies.