Page:The Spirit of Japanese Poetry (Noguchi).djvu/72

priest. I have written a dramatic fragment on the subject after my own fashion as follows:

THE MORNING-GLORY

(A DRAMATIC FRAGMENT)

Priest.

"Who is the guide in Life's chartless field?

See the black robe of the priest for the changeless love of the Lord
(The robe is black, as black night, with mercy's depth):
I count my rosary, I count the sins of the world and life;
My prayer is the evening bell to turn them to rest.
My face is ever turned to joy and the West–
To the West, where lies Heaven, the only real place.
'Tis mine to make the suffering souls obedient to Law and Truth,
And then regain the song of dissolution and rest.
What is the flower that I see before my eyes?
Is it not the Morning-Glory, the flower of Summer's dream and dews?
It is strange to see it now when Autumn's silence
Has calmed down the fire and heart of Nature and song;
It is like a lyric forgotten and unsung–
Villager, tell me what flower it is."

Villager.

"Father, it is none other than the Morning-Glory."

Priest.

"Is it the custom here to see it blooming under the pale October sky?"

Villager.

"No, father. It is the first time I have seen it."