Voices
By Madison Julius Cawein
I.
I heard the ancient forest talk,
(Its voice was like a wandering breeze):
It said, "Who is it comes to walk
Along my paths when, white as chalk,
The moon hangs o'er my sleeping trees?
What presence is it no one sees?"
II.
And then I heard a voice reply,
That seemed far off yet very near;
It sounded from the earth and sky,
And said, "A spirit walketh here,
Whom mortals know as Awe and Fear.
Terrible and beautiful am I."
III.
And then I heard the meadows say,
(Their voice was as the sound of streams,
Or rain that comes from far away):
"Who sits amid us here and dreams,
When sunlight on our blossoms gleams,
And keeps us company all day?"
IV.
And then I heard a voice intone,
A voice not near yet all around:
"I am that spirit, yea, thine own,
Who worketh wonders in the ground:
Some call me Love that hath no bound,
And I am beautiful alone."