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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE SECRET PLACE by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON

First Line: WHEN I SHAKE OFF THE OUTER THINGS
Last Line: I FARE ME FORTH MY FATE TO GREET.
Subject(s): DREAMS; FATE; LOVE; RHYME; SOUL; NIGHTMARES; DESTINY;

WHEN I shake off the outer things
That, thronging, drag me fifty ways --
The busy needs, the little stings
That hum about my usual days --
I come into a secret place
And meet my true self, face to face.

Quiet removal from the press,
A breathing-room wherein the soul
Knows love and love's own tenderness,
And in a dream descries the goal;
There wholesome thoughts and sweet confer,
Like garments laid in lavender.

Anew I feel that I belong --
Alien and outcast though I be --
To the great Spirit whose far song
Makes an ineffable harmony;
And, with a rhythm in my feet,
I fare me forth my fate to greet.



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