Poems (Browning)/Song of Light
Song of Light
Space, the mind of man outreaching,
Stretching to infinity;
Can aught bring thee, all dividing
Stubborn distance, to thy knee?
Stretching to infinity;
Can aught bring thee, all dividing
Stubborn distance, to thy knee?
I can never find a limit
On from sun to sun I race,
Touching lightly on the planet
Islands of the sea of space.
On from sun to sun I race,
Touching lightly on the planet
Islands of the sea of space.
In my youth I dreamed a border
Must be built about it all,
And I thought to it to wander,
And peer o'er some outer wall.
Must be built about it all,
And I thought to it to wander,
And peer o'er some outer wall.
But I little knew existence,
Little guessed the starry slopes,
And deception of that distance
To the summit of my hopes.
Little guessed the starry slopes,
And deception of that distance
To the summit of my hopes.
In about the worlds I scatter
Rays with sunshine's blessings rife,
And I tinge the clouds I shatter
With the golden glow of life.
Rays with sunshine's blessings rife,
And I tinge the clouds I shatter
With the golden glow of life.
Then I flash out into boundless
Space—until my rays disperse—
Until I am tired of endless
Grasping at the universe.
Space—until my rays disperse—
Until I am tired of endless
Grasping at the universe.
Out beyond the fartherest heavens
Lie there other heavens still,
Bounded still by other heavens,
Bounded still by heavens still.
Lie there other heavens still,
Bounded still by other heavens,
Bounded still by heavens still.
Countless years my rays have wandered
Threading constellations bright,
Far beyond yon star bespattered
Vaulted canopy of night.
Threading constellations bright,
Far beyond yon star bespattered
Vaulted canopy of night.
I can never find a limit
On from sun to sun I race,
Touching lightly on the planet
Islands of the sea of space.
—Charles Browning.
On from sun to sun I race,
Touching lightly on the planet
Islands of the sea of space.
—Charles Browning.
Finis