So still lay the city,So very quietly it slept,That from high in the westI heard the honking of geeseWinging southward.Yearningly I listenedAs they swept over,Yearningly I cried—O wild things, that ICould fly as do you!Then out of the silent darkness,Like a flying star,Flashed a planeWith its skyborne humans.And all of a suddenI remembered that I, too,Could take to wings.
So still lay the city,So very quietly it slept,That from high in the westI heard the honking of geeseWinging southward.Yearningly I listenedAs they swept over,Yearningly I cried—O wild things, that ICould fly as do you!Then out of the silent darkness,Like a flying star,Flashed a planeWith its skyborne humans.And all of a suddenI remembered that I, too,Could take to wings.
So still lay the city,So very quietly it slept,That from high in the westI heard the honking of geeseWinging southward.Yearningly I listenedAs they swept over,Yearningly I cried—O wild things, that ICould fly as do you!Then out of the silent darkness,Like a flying star,Flashed a planeWith its skyborne humans.And all of a suddenI remembered that I, too,Could take to wings.
When the long drawn notes of a bird’s songEchoes through the trees,It brings to remembrance the songsOf the blackbirds at Petit Trianon:Chiming, reverberating, floating downFrom the tops of the tall cedarsAs from an invisible, celestial choir.Nor can I forget the ages-old wisteriaClambering over gray palace walls,Nor the gamut of color in the azaleas there—Pink, orange, cerise, yellow—In pale green foliage.
When the long drawn notes of a bird’s songEchoes through the trees,It brings to remembrance the songsOf the blackbirds at Petit Trianon:Chiming, reverberating, floating downFrom the tops of the tall cedarsAs from an invisible, celestial choir.Nor can I forget the ages-old wisteriaClambering over gray palace walls,Nor the gamut of color in the azaleas there—Pink, orange, cerise, yellow—In pale green foliage.
When the long drawn notes of a bird’s songEchoes through the trees,It brings to remembrance the songsOf the blackbirds at Petit Trianon:Chiming, reverberating, floating downFrom the tops of the tall cedarsAs from an invisible, celestial choir.
Nor can I forget the ages-old wisteriaClambering over gray palace walls,Nor the gamut of color in the azaleas there—Pink, orange, cerise, yellow—In pale green foliage.
When your heavens are as brassAnd joy has fled, andEvery door is shut,Do not forget the oneThat opens inward—The door of your heart,Whose handle is on the insideAnd which only you can open.Go out through that doorAnd find one whose skiesAre darker than yours,Whose burden is heavier;Bring him back with youInto your heart.There can you cleanse him with love,And clothe him with garments of truth,And put the ring of his unityWith God upon his hand;There feed him with the word,And let him go.Then will your heavens beAs radiant light,And your happiness and joySuch as never wereOn land or sea.
When your heavens are as brassAnd joy has fled, andEvery door is shut,Do not forget the oneThat opens inward—The door of your heart,Whose handle is on the insideAnd which only you can open.Go out through that doorAnd find one whose skiesAre darker than yours,Whose burden is heavier;Bring him back with youInto your heart.There can you cleanse him with love,And clothe him with garments of truth,And put the ring of his unityWith God upon his hand;There feed him with the word,And let him go.Then will your heavens beAs radiant light,And your happiness and joySuch as never wereOn land or sea.
When your heavens are as brassAnd joy has fled, andEvery door is shut,Do not forget the oneThat opens inward—The door of your heart,Whose handle is on the insideAnd which only you can open.Go out through that doorAnd find one whose skiesAre darker than yours,Whose burden is heavier;Bring him back with youInto your heart.
There can you cleanse him with love,And clothe him with garments of truth,And put the ring of his unityWith God upon his hand;There feed him with the word,And let him go.Then will your heavens beAs radiant light,And your happiness and joySuch as never wereOn land or sea.
In the deepening twilight there floatsFrom the chapel above, the loved hymns of healing—Hymns of comfort, of courage, welling up from grateful heartsAnd bringing reassurance of God’s powerTo one who listens below in silent prayer and praise.Great peace of God, be with us all!Great peace of God encompass us!Speak to the waves tonight, Father, that they stand.Stretch forth Thy hand and stay their power,Calm them, that they overwhelm not.For Thy voice is “mightier than the noise of many waters,Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.”This Thou canst do, O my God.
In the deepening twilight there floatsFrom the chapel above, the loved hymns of healing—Hymns of comfort, of courage, welling up from grateful heartsAnd bringing reassurance of God’s powerTo one who listens below in silent prayer and praise.Great peace of God, be with us all!Great peace of God encompass us!Speak to the waves tonight, Father, that they stand.Stretch forth Thy hand and stay their power,Calm them, that they overwhelm not.For Thy voice is “mightier than the noise of many waters,Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.”This Thou canst do, O my God.
In the deepening twilight there floatsFrom the chapel above, the loved hymns of healing—Hymns of comfort, of courage, welling up from grateful heartsAnd bringing reassurance of God’s powerTo one who listens below in silent prayer and praise.Great peace of God, be with us all!Great peace of God encompass us!Speak to the waves tonight, Father, that they stand.Stretch forth Thy hand and stay their power,Calm them, that they overwhelm not.For Thy voice is “mightier than the noise of many waters,Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.”This Thou canst do, O my God.
These are they, O God,Who came out of great tribulationAnd have washed their robes white.Oh, holy triumph of thoseWho have endured the fireAnd the tempest’s rage and, delivered,Stand exalted in this very hour,Purged, sanctified, and satisfied.These are they who have surrenderedAll the vanities of mortal selfhood,And serve TheeDay and night in Thy temple,Lifting others to beholdThe tearless, ageless, deathless realityOf Thy glory.
These are they, O God,Who came out of great tribulationAnd have washed their robes white.Oh, holy triumph of thoseWho have endured the fireAnd the tempest’s rage and, delivered,Stand exalted in this very hour,Purged, sanctified, and satisfied.These are they who have surrenderedAll the vanities of mortal selfhood,And serve TheeDay and night in Thy temple,Lifting others to beholdThe tearless, ageless, deathless realityOf Thy glory.
These are they, O God,Who came out of great tribulationAnd have washed their robes white.Oh, holy triumph of thoseWho have endured the fireAnd the tempest’s rage and, delivered,Stand exalted in this very hour,Purged, sanctified, and satisfied.These are they who have surrenderedAll the vanities of mortal selfhood,And serve TheeDay and night in Thy temple,Lifting others to beholdThe tearless, ageless, deathless realityOf Thy glory.
Transcriber's NoteMinor typographic errors have been corrected without note.
Transcriber's Note
Minor typographic errors have been corrected without note.