Elijah Browning

    I was among multitudes of children
    Dancing at the foot of a mountain.
    A breeze blew out of the east and swept them as leaves,
    Driving some up the slopes. . . .
    All was changed.
    Here were flying lights, and mystic moons, and dream-music.
    A cloud fell upon us.
    When it lifted all was changed.
    I was now amid multitudes who were wrangling.
    Then a figure in shimmering gold, and one with a trumpet,
    And one with a sceptre stood before me.
    They mocked me and danced a rigadoon and vanished. . . .
    All was changed again.
    Out of a bower of poppies
    A woman bared her breasts and lifted her open mouth to mine.
    I kissed her.
    The taste of her lips was like salt.
    She left blood on my lips.
    I fell exhausted.
    I arose and ascended higher, but a mist as from an iceberg
    Clouded my steps.
    I was cold and in pain.
    Then the sun streamed on me again,
    And I saw the mists below me hiding all below them.
    And I, bent over my staff, knew myself
    Silhouetted against the snow.
    And above me
    Was the soundless air, pierced by a cone of ice,
    Over which hung a solitary star!
    A shudder of ecstasy, a shudder of fear
    Ran through me.
    But I could not return to the slopes -
    Nay, I wished not to return.
    For the spent waves of the symphony of freedom
    Lapped the ethereal cliffs about me.
    Therefore I climbed to the pinnacle.
    I flung away my staff.
    I touched that star
    With my outstretched hand.
    I vanished utterly.
    For the mountain delivers to
    Infinite Truth
    Whosoever touches the star.

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. Born in Kansas and raised in Illinois, Masters is best known for his collection of poems entitled "Spoon River Anthology" (1915), which is a series of epitaphs of residents of the fictional small town of Spoon River. His works reflect the everyday lives and frustrations of middle America. Masters also practiced law and wrote biographies for historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain.

Edgar Lee Masters

Dow Kritt

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O Glorious France

Edgar Lee Masters, Simple Poetry

English

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