| Lord, save my soul alive from books and men!
I have been crushed again and yet again For standing squarely out against a world Of dogma from the desk and rostrum hurled At heads, unbent and impious, ___ such as mine ___ That will not with a ready grace incline To hear the learned few's stale parrotings Of dead men's wisdom. Oh, but here are things
More worth than these, my masters, more than these!
The lilac hedge in April, if you please! The wild crab apple at its beauty's best Aloof upon the links; against the west The tall dark pine trees in a solemn row; The glistening red roofs of the hill a-glory Against an autumn rain, and, strange and white, North Hollow, when the sleet falls over night. And these things quicken me to living ___ these! Tonight I saw the sun set through the trees, And after that the creeping mists from gray Grew grayer yet and deeper until they Had blurred the valley lights and softened down To half-dimmed stars the white light of the town, And far above it all, serenely high, A little young moon in the western sky. On these ___ not books ___ Lord, let my spirit thrive! By these ___ not men ___ Lord, save my soul alive! |
The Call of Kansas and Other Poems
Esther M. (Clark) Hill
(Cedar Rapids: Torch Press. __)
Page 30
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