Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A BIRTHDAY SALUTATION TO HELEN KELLER, by ELIOT WHITE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A BIRTHDAY SALUTATION TO HELEN KELLER, by                    
First Line: So runs the proverb of the long ago
Last Line: And all the cherished beauty of your life.
Subject(s): Birthdays; Keller, Helen (1880-1968); Life


So runs the Proverb of the long ago,
True for all time; yet what a marvel this,
To know one whom the world with hasty thought
Deems of both ear and eye bereft, -- yet hears
Beyond the power of those who scarcely more
Than seem to hear, and sees more wondrously
Than those whose eyes are granted outward sight!
So is this gifted one made messenger,
To us who thought we heard and saw, of truth
Beyond the reach of sense, and beautiful
With grace of hidden tenderness and worth
That thrills our answering spirits. So we know
The Proverb far more deeply than of old.
And He who surely made the hearing ear
And kindled with His light the seeing eye
Reveals in you His well-beloved child
The swiftness of a hearing exquisite
And radiance of a vision glorious,
Until our hearts are overbrimmed with thanks
For His great boon bestowed on us through you,
And all the cherished beauty of your life.





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