Outspeeded
Tonight the onward-rushing train
Would bear thee far from me;
But, winged with swifter dreams, again
My spirit flies to thee.
Nay, speeding far beyond thee, waits
To welcome thee anew,
Where Dawn is opening the gates
To let the darkness through.
Communion
Once when my heart was passion-free
To learn of things divine,
The soul of nature suddenly
Outpoured itself in mine.
I held the secrets of the deep,
And of the heavens above;
I knew the harmonies of sleep,
The mysteries of love.
And for a moment’s interval
The earth, the sky, the sea—
My soul encompassed, each and all,
As now they compass me.
To one in all, to all in one—
Since Love the work began—
Life’s ever widening circles run,
Revealing God and man.
Import
Thou hast the final touch supplied
That till thy coming was denied—
A single letter in a word
Whose absence all the context blurred;
A missing note that, but for thee,
Had marred the perfect harmony.
The Pilgrim
When, but a child, I wandered hence,
Another child—sweet Innocence,
My sister—went with me;
But I have lost her, and am fain
To seek her in the home again
Where we were wont to be.
Our Stars
My twilight is before the dark,
And thine before the day;
O’er both alike a beacon-spark
To keep us in the way.
The darkness can but brighten mine;
Let not the noon extinguish thine.
For a recitation, click the play button:
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/90019700″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]“Outspeeded”: Lyrics, p. 80; Poetry, p. 248. January 1895. Waits: that is, his spirit waits.
“Communion”: Lyrics, p. 74; Poetry, p. 245. September 1892.
“Import”: Father Tabb, p. 188; Poetry, p. 251. October 1909.
“The Pilgrim”: Lyrics, p. 83; Poetry, p. 246. 1897. Fain means eager.
“Our Stars”: Lyrics, p. 114; Poetry, p. 249. 1910.
