By Charles G. D. Roberts
The spirits of earth were there
Thronging the shadowed air,
Serving among the lilies
In an ecstasy of prayer.
Their speech I could not tell;
But the sap in each green cell,
And the pure initiate petals,
They knew that language well.
I felt the soul of the trees—
Of the white, eternal seas—
Of the flickering bats and night-moths
And my own soul kin to these.
And a spell came out of space
From the light of its starry place,
And I saw in the deep of my heart
The image of God’s face.
The spirits of earth were there
Thronging the shadowed air,
Serving among the lilies
In an ecstasy of prayer.
Their speech I could not tell;
But the sap in each green cell,
And the pure initiate petals,
They knew that language well.
I felt the soul of the trees—
Of the white, eternal seas—
Of the flickering bats and night-moths
And my own soul kin to these.
And a spell came out of space
From the light of its starry place,
And I saw in the deep of my heart
The image of God’s face.