New Zealand Verse/To the Soul

by Frederick Napier Broome

CLI.

To the Soul.

When the unknown shall be known;
 When the unseen shall be seen;
  When thou art strong, and loud, and arisen,
  O Soul, within thy prison,
And the old enchantments flown,
 And men’s eyes clear and keen,

Till they see beyond the grave,—
 Till they pierce beneath the flesh,—
  Till the weaker at death no longer
  Are fain of the word of the stronger;—
“Be brave, my brother, be brave;
 Thy day beginneth afresh!”

When good is worn of all,
 Deemed priceless as though rare;
  When evil has lain forsaken,
  Thrown down long since untaken,
Its strength become so small,
 It is not worth men’s wear;

When the body all work has done,
 And the mind all wisdom learnt,
  And found their labour and learning
  But as toil that brings no earning,
In the face of the full fair sun
 But as needless lanterns burnt;

When thou, O Soul, art found
 Beneath thy lowly guise;
  When men have proclaimed thee royal,
  And to thee, and none other, loyal,
Have made thy power to abound
 Till all alike are wise.

But this is not yet; and now
 The god lies bound in us;
  Still, searching the dusky portal
  Cloven through all things mortal,
His white and prostrate brow
 We may discover thus.

Are we not each a lamp
 Of frail and earthen form,
  Wherein a spark doth shelter
  Beyond the tempest’s pelter,
Lightening the chill and damp,
 Swinging through night and storm?

We know that clouded light
 Is as the light of stars,
  And though the bowl be broken,
  This is our sign and token,
That flame by mutual might
 Shall climb their shining cars.

Frederick Napier Broome