The Poetry Corner

To the Memory Of George H. Ellwanger True Friend And Lover And Interpreter Of Nature, As A Slight Token Of Esteem And Admiration

By Madison Julius Cawein

Would I could talk as the flowers talk To my soul! and the stars, in their ceaseless walk Through Heaven! and tell to the high and low The things that they say, so all might know The dreams they dream, and have told to me! As Nature sees would I could see! Then might I speak with authority! I stand below and look above, And see her busy with life and love, And can tell the world so little thereof. Oh, for a soul that could feel much less! Or, feeling more, could so express The things it feels and their tenderness: The very essence, the soul of art, And all the heavens and hells of heart! Then might I rise to the very peak, The summit of song, which poets seek, And speak with a voice as the masters speak.