Chapter II

“Dead o’er us roll celestial fires; Mute stand Earth’s ancient beaches; Old thoughts, old instincts, old desires, The passing hour outreaches; The soul creative never tires— Evokes, adores, beseeches; And that heart most the god inspires Whom most its wildness teaches.

“For I will course through falling years And stars and cities burning; And I will march through dying cheers Past empires unreturning; Ever the world flame reappears Where mankind power is earning, The nations’ hopes, the people’s tears, One with the wild heart yearning.

GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY