Love, The Interpreter.

Thou art the music that I hear in sleep,
The poetry that lures me on in dreams;
The magic, thou, that holds my thought with themes
Of young romance in revery's mystic keep.
The lily's aura, and the damask deep
That clothes the rose; the whispering soul that seems
To haunt the wind; the rainbow light that streams,
Like some wild spirit, 'thwart the cataract's leap
Are glimmerings of thee and thy loveliness,
Pervading all my world; interpreting
The marvel and the wonder these disclose:
For, lacking thee, to me were meaningless
Life, love and hope, the joy of every thing,
And all the beauty that the wide world knows.

Madison Julius Cawein

Madison Julius Cawein was born on March 23, 1865, in Louisville, Kentucky and died on December 8, 1914. Known as the “Keats of Kentucky,” his poetry often focused on nature, mythology, and the lush landscapes of his home state. Throughout his lifetime, Cawein published more than 30 books of poetry. He is remembered for his vivid and descriptive style and his ability to capture the beauty of the natural world. His works provide a window into the pastoral and often mystical world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Madison Julius Cawein

Treasure

Madison Julius Cawein, Simple Poetry

Loyalty

Madison Julius Cawein, Simple Poetry

The Dunes

Madison Julius Cawein, Simple Poetry

Midwinter.

Madison Julius Cawein, Simple Poetry

English

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Interpreted

What magic shall solve us the secret
Of beauty that's born for an hour?
That gleams like the flight of an egret,
Or burns like the scent of a flower,
With death for a dower?

What leaps in the bosk but a satyr?
What pipes on the wind but a faun?
Or laughs in the waters that scatter,
But limbs of a nymph who is gone,
When we walk in the dawn?

What sings on the hills but a fairy?
Or sighs in the fields but a sprite?
What breathes through the leaves but the airy
Soft spirits of shadow and light,
When we walk in the night?

Behold how the world-heart is eager
To draw us and hold us and claim!
Through truths of the dreams that beleaguer
Her soul she makes ours the same,
And death but a name.

Madison Julius Cawein

The Love Of Loves.

I Have not seen her face, and yet
She is more sweet than any thing
Of Earth than rose or violet
That Mayday winds and sunbeams bring.

Of all we know, past or to come,
That beauty holds within its net,
She is the high compendium:
And yet

I have not touched her robe, and still
She is more dear than lyric words
And music; or than strains that fill
The throbbing throats of forest birds.

Of all we mean by poetry,
That rules the soul and charms the will,
She is the deep epitome:
And still

She is my world; ah, pity me!
A dream that flies whom I pursue;
Whom all pursue, whoe'er they be,
Who toil for art and dare and do.

The shadow-love for whom they sigh,
The far ideal affinity,
For whom they live and gladly ...

Madison Julius Cawein

Words

I cannot tell what I would tell thee,
What I would say, what thou shouldst hear:
Words of the soul that should compell thee,
Words of the heart to draw thee near.

For when thou smilest, thou, who fillest
My life with joy, and I would speak,
'T is then my lips and tongue are stillest,
Knowing all language is too weak.

Look in my eyes: read there confession:
The truest love has least of art:
Nor needs it words for its expression
When soul speaks soul and heart speaks heart.

Madison Julius Cawein

Witnesses

I.

You say I do not love you! - Tell me why,
    When I have gazed a little on your face,
And then gone forth into the world of men,
    A beauty, neither of the Earth or Sky,
A glamour, that transforms each common place,
        Attends my spirit then?


II.

You say I do not love you! - Yet I know
    When I have heard you speak and dwelt upon
Your words awhile, my heart has gone away
    Filled with strange music, very soft and low,
A dim companion, touching with sweet tone
        The discords of the day.


III.

You say I do not love you! - Yet it seems,
    When I have kissed your hand and said farewell,
A fragrance, sweeter than did flower yet bloom,
    Accompanies my soul and fills, with dreams,
The s...

Madison Julius Cawein

In The Forest Of Love

What sighed the Forest to the nest?
"So young, so old,
Love,
Help me to mold
This life I hold."
What said the bird,
That harked and heard?
"Below, above,
Love, love is best.
Take heed, my Life, and quit thy quest.
The meaning of Love is rest."
So spake the bird.
What cried the Nightwind to the trees?
"Thou dream of Earth,
Love,
Make me of worth
In death and birth!"
What said the wood
Stark-still that stood?
"Below, above,
Give me increase.
Take heed, my Heart! thy sighings cease.
The meaning of Love is peace."
So spake the Wood.
What sobbed the Earth in deep and height?
"O Song of Songs,
Love,
Unloose my thongs,
And right my wrongs!"
What said the Clod,
That dreamed of God?
"Below, abov...

Madison Julius Cawein

Reasons

I


Yea, why I love thee let my heart repeat:
I look upon thy face and then divine
How men could die for beauty, such as thine,--
Deeming it sweet
To lay my life and manhood at thy feet,
And for a word, a glance,
Do deeds of old romance.


II


Yea, why I love thee let my heart unfold:
I look into thy heart and then I know
The wondrous poetry of the long-ago,
The Age of Gold,
That speaks strange music, that is old, so old,
Yet young, as when 't was born,
With all the youth of morn.


III


Yea, why I love thee let my heart conclude:
I look into thy soul and realize
The undiscovered meaning of the skies,--
That long have wooed
The world with far ideals that elude,--
Out of whose dre...

Madison Julius Cawein