Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, INITIATION, by JOHN COWPER POWYS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

INITIATION, by                     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.





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