Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY, SELECTION, by LOUIS JONES MAGEE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY, SELECTION, by                    
First Line: We may not fail in zeal, nor effort shirk,
Last Line: We hear the rustle of a started thrush.
Subject(s): Heat


. . . . .

WE may not fail in zeal, nor effort shirk,
Nor lessen our devotion to the cause
Or calling. Only keep the chosen work
In bounds; be not consumed; reserve a pause
Amidst the busiest days for other books
Than those which crowd upon your office shelves.
Reserve within the heart a room that looks
Upon the mountains, not the street! Yourselves
Sometimes lock ye within. Rest comes with change
Of action: and new work, we know, imparts
Fresh vigor to the man -- a wider range
Of vision rests the eye. Keep gentle arts
About you! So shall come the shaded spot
Along the march, the oasis amidst the sand,
The dark cathedral open on a hot
Highway, into whose depths we pass and stand,
A while, silent before the wondrous Child
And grave Madonna. This shall be a wood
For us, whose ancient trees and thickets wild
Before the modern axe till now have stood
Exempted. Such cool shades! such towering pines
Against the pure blue! And all so close
To the great city's geometric lines
Of house-walled, paven streets, with planted rows
Of lindens. Pausing for a moment there
Beyond the hurry of high noon, the hush
Of nature soothes; we breathe the balsamed air;
The rumble of the dusty thoroughfare
Sounds far away. Among the tangled vines
We hear the rustle of a started thrush.





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