The world stands out on either side No wider than the heart is wide; Above the world is stretched the sky, -- No higher than the soul is high. The heart can push the sea and land Farther away on either hand; The soul can split the sky in two, And let the face of God shine through. But East and West will pinch the heart That cannot keep them pushed apart; And he whose soul is flat -- the sky Will cave in on him by and by. Souls. [Fannie Stearns Davis] My Soul goes clad in gorgeous things, Scarlet and gold and blue; And at her shoulder sudden wings Like long flames flicker through. And she is swallow-fleet, and free From mortal bonds and bars. She laughs, because Eternity Blossoms for her with stars! O folk who scorn my stiff gray gown, My dull and foolish face, -- Can ye not see my Soul flash down, A singing flame through space? And folk, whose earth-stained looks I hate, Why may I not divine Your Souls, that must be passionate, Shining and swift, as mine! Fiat Lux. [Lloyd Mifflin] Then that dread angel near the awful throne, Leaving the seraphs ranged in flaming tiers, Winged his dark way through those unpinioned spheres, And on the void's black beetling edge, alone, Stood with raised wings, and listened for the tone Of God's command to reach his eager ears, While Chaos wavered, for she felt her years Unsceptered now in that convulsive zone. Night trembled. And as one hath oft beheld A lamp within a vase light up its gloom, So God's voice lighted him, from heel to plume: "Let there be light!" It said, and Darkness, quelled, Shrunk noiseless backward in her monstrous womb Through vasts unwinnowed by the wings of eld! The Dreamer. [Nicholas Vachel Lindsay] "~Why do you seek the sun, In your Bubble-Crown ascending? Your chariot will melt to mist, Your crown will have an ending.~" "Nay, sun is but a Bubble, Earth is a whiff of Foam -- To my caves on the coast of Thule Each night I call them home. Thence Faiths blow forth to angels And Loves blow forth to men -- They break and turn to nothing And I make them whole again: On the crested waves of chaos I ride them back reborn: New stars I bring at evening For those that burst at morn: My soul is the wind of Thule And evening is the sign, The sun is but a Bubble, A fragile child of mine." A Caravan from China comes. [Richard Le Gallienne] (After Hafiz) A caravan from China comes; For miles it sweetens all the air With fragrant silks and dreaming gums, Attar and myrrh -- A caravan from China comes. O merchant, tell me what you bring, With music sweet of camel bells; How long have you been travelling With these sweet smells? O merchant, tell me what you bring. A lovely lady is my freight, A lock escaped of her long hair, -- That is this perfume delicate That fills the air -- A lovely lady is my freight.