Classic and Contemporary Poetry
INITIATION, by JOHN COWPER POWYS Poet's Biography First Line: Only those whom the glacier-spears Last Line: Can hear the worms whisper beneath the sod. Subject(s): Fear; God; Hell | ||||||||
Only those whom the glacier-spears Pierce as they walk, On the scoriac heights where the ultimate Fears Nakedly stalk, Can taste the quivering cup of the dawn Where the cowslips grow And the starlings flying over the lawn Their shadows throw. These find in that enchanted hour The lilac-tinted cuckoo-flower. These know in that anointed shrine The rain-washed blue-bell's scent divine. Only those who have harrowed Hell Can read the runes of a sea-tossed shell. Only those who have challenged God Can hear the worms whisper beneath the sod. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LOVER IN HELL by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET YOU KNOW WHAT PEOPLE SAY by JAMES GALVIN AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS WAR by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON WHAT HELL IS; MARCH 1985 by HEATHER MCHUGH INCIDENT IN HELL by CARL RAKOSI DON JUAN IN HELL by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE |
|