Poems of Optimism Part 2

Why, what would Peace do, in a world where hearts Are filled with thoughts like poison-pointed darts?

It were not meet, surely it were not meet For Peace to come, and with her white robes hide These industries of death--these guns and swords, - These uniformed, hate-filled, destructive hordes, - These hideous things, that are each nation's pride.

So long as men believe in armed might Let arms be brandished. Let not Peace be sought Until the race-heart empties out all thought Of blows and blood, as arguments for Right.

The world has never had enough of war, Else war were not. Now let the monster stand, Until he slays himself with his own hand; Though no man knows what he is fighting for.

Then in the place where wicked cannons stood Let Peace erect her shrine of Brotherhood.

THE WINDS OF FATE

One s.h.i.+p drives east and another drives west, With the self-same winds that blow, 'Tis the set of the sails And not the gales That tell them the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the winds of fate, As we voyage along through life, 'Tis the set of the soul That decides its goal And not the calm or the strife.

BEAUTY

The search for beauty is the search for G.o.d Who is All Beauty. He who seeks shall find.

And all along the paths my feet have trod, I have sought hungrily with heart and mind, And open eyes for beauty, everywhere.

Lo! I have found the world is very fair.

The search for beauty is the search for G.o.d.

Beauty was first revealed to me by stars, Before I saw it in my mother's eyes, Or, seeing, sensed it beauty, I was stirred To awe and wonder by those orbs of light All palpitant against empurpled skies.

They spoke a language to my childish heart Of mystery and splendour, and of s.p.a.ce, Friendly with gracious, unseen presences.

Beauty was first revealed to me by stars.

Sunsets enlarged the meaning of the word.

There was a window looking to the west; Beyond it, wide Wisconsin fields of grain, And then a hill, whereon white flocks of clouds Would gather in the afternoon to rest.

And when the sun went down behind that hill What scenes of glory spread before my sight; What beauty--beauty, absolute, supreme!

Sunsets enlarged the meaning of that word.

Clover in blossom, red and honey-sweet, In summer billowed like a crimson sea Across the meadow lands. One day, I stood Breast-high amidst its waves, and heard the hum Of myriad bees, that had gone mad like me With fragrance and with beauty. Over us, A loving sun smiled from a cloudless sky, While a bold breeze kissed lightly as it pa.s.sed, Clover in blossom, red and honey-sweet.

Autumn spoke loudly of the beautiful.

And in the gallery of Nature hung Colossal pictures hard against the sky, Set forests gorgeous with a hundred hues; And with each morning, some new wonder flung Before the startled world; some daring shade, Some strange, new scheme of colour and of form.

Autumn spoke loudly of the beautiful.

Winter, though rude, is delicate in art - More delicate than Summer or than fall (Even as rugged man is more refined In vital things than woman). Winter's touch On Nature seemed most beautiful of all - That evanescent beauty of the frost On window panes; of clean, fresh, fallen snow; Of white, white sunlight on the ice-draped trees.

Winter, though rude, is delicate in art.

Morning! The word itself is beautiful, And the young hours have many gifts to give That feed the soul with beauty. He who keeps His days for labour and his nights for sleep Wakes conscious of the joy it is to live, And brings from that mysterious Land of Dreams A sense of beauty that illumines earth.

Morning! The word itself is beautiful.

The search for beauty is the search for G.o.d.

THE INVISIBLE HELPERS

There are, there are Invisible Great Helpers of the race.

Across unatlased continents of s.p.a.ce, From star to star.

In answer to some soul's imperious need, They speed, they speed.

When the earth-loving young are forced to stand Upon the border of the Unknown Land, They come, they come--those angels who have trod The alt.i.tudes of G.o.d, And to the trembling heart Their strength impart.

Have you not seen the delicate young maid, Filled with the joy of life in her fair dawn, Look in the face of death, all unafraid, And smilingly pa.s.s on?

This is not human strength; not even faith Has such large confidence in such an hour.

It is a power Supplied by beings who have conquered death.

Floating from sphere to sphere They hover near The souls that need the courage they can give.

This is no vision of a dreamer's mind.

Though we are blind They live, they live, Filling all s.p.a.ce - Invisible Great Helpers of the race.

TO THE WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA

A toast to the splendid daughters Of the New World over the waters, A world that is great as new; Daughters of brave old races, Daughters of heights and s.p.a.ces, Broad seas and broad earth places - Hail to your land and you!

The sun and the winds have fed you; The width of your world has led you Out into the larger view; Strong with a strength that is tender, Bright with a primal splendour, Homage and praise we render - Hail to your land and you!

Sisters and daughters and mothers, Standing abreast with your brothers, Working for things that are true; Thinking and doing and daring, Giving, receiving, and sharing, Earning the crowns you are wearing - Hail to your land and you!

REPLIES

You have lived long and learned the secret of life, O Seer!

Tell me what are the best three things to seek - The best three things for a man to seek on earth?

The best three things for a man to seek, O Son! are these: Reverence for that great Source from whence he came; Work for the world wherein he finds himself; And knowledge of the Realm toward which he goes.

What are the best three things to love on earth, O Seer!

What are the best three things for a man to love?

The best three things for a man to love, O Son! are these: Labour which keeps his forces all in action; A home wherein no evil thing may enter; And a loving woman with G.o.d in her heart.

What are the three great sins to shun, O Seer! - What are the three great sins for a man to shun?

The three great sins for a man to shun, O Son! are these: A thought which soils the heart from whence it goes; An action that can harm a living thing; And undeveloped energies of mind.