IN the beautiful garden of paradise, where the souls of the blessèd go, I saw in dream a multitude which wended to and fro, And their mouths were filled with heavenly speech beyond all mortal phrase As they walked where the crystal fount of life in gleaming column plays: But One I saw who fared alone and bore a flame for his heart, Like a stranger in a foreign land who lives and moves apart; And yet the face of the radiant Soul was bright as a noonday sun,— And I drew a-nigh to question it, the Lonely and Lovely One. "Oh, wherefore, pray," I asked of It, "Do you not join yonder throng Whom the healing touch of eternity has wakened into song?" "I am neither of Heaven, nor, yet, of earth," The Shining Spirit said, "With pangs and cries I was born last night, and died in my mother's bed!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 2 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 17 by CONRAD AIKEN CAMPUS SONNET: TALK by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET TO HENRY LINCOLN JOHNSON - LAWYER by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON EIGHTEEN-DOLLAR TAXI TRIP TO TIZAPAN AND BACK TO CHAPALA by CLARENCE MAJOR |