And so, heart-sick, I have come back—
Back to the parting of the ways.
Back to the parting of the ways.
And here, where hot rebellion dies
And selfishness has paid its dole,
I see, far down the path abhorred,
The gleaming white light of my goal!
And selfishness has paid its dole,
I see, far down the path abhorred,
The gleaming white light of my goal!
For primrose paths lead not to joy,
'Tis reached across the shards of pride;
And he who'd find his better self
Must go back where the paths divide.
'Tis reached across the shards of pride;
And he who'd find his better self
Must go back where the paths divide.
LAGNIAPPE[1]
THE common, needful gifts are ours by right
Of human law—air, food and roof and fire;
But what of all the many thousand wants
That fill the measure of our heart's desire?
Of human law—air, food and roof and fire;
But what of all the many thousand wants
That fill the measure of our heart's desire?
What of our power to read in far-flung stars
The epic of creation's dawn and rise,
Or catch the radiant resurrection truth
A purple crocus opens to our eyes?
The epic of creation's dawn and rise,
Or catch the radiant resurrection truth
A purple crocus opens to our eyes?
What of the sunlight on a field of wheat—
The signal of the cloud-ships far above?
The lure of Hope that paints the shadows gold—
What of that wonder-bloom, the Rose of Love!
The signal of the cloud-ships far above?
The lure of Hope that paints the shadows gold—
What of that wonder-bloom, the Rose of Love!
51
- ↑ Creole expression for a gratuity.
