Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HELEN KELLER, by SARAH CHAUNCEY WOOLSEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HELEN KELLER, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Behind her triple prison-bars shut in
Last Line: Which wraps thee, as its fragrance wraps a rose.
Alternate Author Name(s): Coolidge, Susan
Subject(s): Keller, Helen (1880-1968); Love; Solitude; Soul; Loneliness


Behind her triple prison-bars shut in
She sits, the whitest soul on earth today.
No shadowing stain, no whispered hint of sin,
Into that sanctuary find the way.
There enters only clear and proven truth
Apportioned for her use by loving hands
And winnowed from all knowledge of all lands,
To satisfy her ardent thirst of youth.

Like a strange alabaster mask her face,
Rayless and sightless, set in patience dumb,
Until like quick electric currents come
The signals of life into her lonely place;
Then, like a lamp just lit, an inward gleam
Flashes within the mask's opacity,
The features glow and dimple suddenly,
And fun and tenderness and sparkle seem
To irradiate the lines once dull and blind,
While the white slender fingers reach and cling
With quick imploring gestures, questioning
The mysteries and meanings: -- to her mind.

The world is not the sordid world we know;
It is a happy and benignant spot
Where kindness reigns, and jealousy is not,
And men move softly, dropping as they go
The golden fruit of knowledge for all to share.
And Love is King, and Heaven is very near,
And God to whom each separate soul is dear,
Makes fatherly answer to each whispered prayer.
Ah, little stainless soul, shut in so close,
May never hint of doubt creep in to be
A shadow on the calm security
Which wraps thee, as its fragrance wraps a rose.





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