THERE IS A SOLITUDE.

THERE is a solitude within the heart,
     Unpenetrated by the eye of man.
     At its first dawn, when consciousness began,
The birds sang strong as at Creation’s start,
The sun illumed the stillness with his dart,

     And through the groves the naked spirit ran
     Rained on by dew-drenched boughs—his end and plan
To be of loveliness the fairest part.

O thou that feels the world’s dust mount and mount
     Up to the jaded nostrils, smarting eyes,

          There is a solitude within thy heart;
Go, wash thyself in that transfiguring fount,
     And feel the primal bliss, the old surprise,
          Discovering how divine a thing thou art. [Page 175]