Below the troubled soil the rose lies Close and thornless in the dim-born root, Granting the genesis of the flower With the ready blindness of the foot: Flesh accepting earth -- the feet walking, Knowing nothing of the puzzled rebellious mind; They carry the body forward, willing To wear shoes, willing to be blind; Feet clad in the meaning of motion, Braced with the skeletal bone, Following grooves with devoted obeisance To the will that is walking alone. When these garments described, these trappings, Shall be loosened and laid aside -- Garments of movement, defenseless and heavy With the measure and strength of a stride -- What then? And why must the rose bloom briefly, And why must the senses walk Through this labyrinth of labor And these frenzied thorns of talk? Somehow the feet lead forward In spite of the heart and the hurt; There is a growth no season's fury Can annul nor tidal pain avert. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LENNIE SWENSON by KAREN SWENSON A SUNRISE SONG by SIDNEY LANIER TEARS by LIZETTE WOODWORTH REESE ROBIN REDBREAST by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM THE MODEST WISH by JOHN BARCLAY (1582-1621) SONNETS OF MANHOOD: SONNET 25. 'SOMETHING WAS WANTING' by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) IN MEMORIAM A.M.W.; SEPTEMBER, 1910 (FOR A SOLEMN MUSIC) by GORDON BOTTOMLEY SONG, FR. A VISION OF GIORGIONE: GEMMA'S SONG ON THE WAY by GORDON BOTTOMLEY |