Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OPENING OF THE LILIES, by GRACE ROBERTSON TUTTLE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OPENING OF THE LILIES, by                    
First Line: In the still cool of the morning
Last Line: Gold centers to the sky.
Subject(s): Flowers; Lilies


In the still cool of the morning
The dewdrops gleam on the grass.
The atmosphere's pine-scented,
And flying birds swift pass.

In this, man's first cathedral,
The lofty arches ring,
As before a mountain altar
The birds sweet anthems sing.

Between the choir and altar
A lake and its lilies lie,
Their buds green-sheathed uprising
Beneath a carnelian sky.

Across the dark, still water
In my canoe I glide,
And among those cloistered lilies
I open a pathway wide.

Then in a burst of music,
I see the Sun-god rise
Over that lofty altar,
And before him the shadow flies.

He touches with his fingers
Those sheathed buds, one by one,
And as he them caresses,
They open to the sun.

Oh, slowly, slowly open,
Till on the lake they lie
White chalices of fragrance,
Gold centers to the sky.





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