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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE EAGLE FLIES; A SONNET SEQUENCE: 19. THE NEW HEAVEN by CLEMENT WOOD

First Line: ONLY WHEN WE ARE CUPPED IN SKY-SWUNG ROCKS
Last Line: AS WE LIE NESTED IN THE SUN'S MOON.

Only when we are cupped in sky-swung rocks
As a libation to the round sky;
And the gray breasts of trees swell and relax,
Shivering joy as the wide wind treads by;
Only where orioles circle in flame
That love alone can make of birds and men,
And the hot sighs of insects dart and gleam
Over the pool under our jagged glen --
Thus, and thus only, here, and here only, now,
And now only, do i dare to try
To catch in pale words the serene and new
Heaven in which you have taught my wings to fly.
I cannot hold my heart from sharing this tune,
As we lie nested in the sun's moon.



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