Page:The South Atlantic Quarterly, Volume 17.djvu/182

In this second division of poems one may readily select about ten that possess unusual excellence. Included in this group are the title poem of the volume, "The Roof of the World," "October," "Michael's Trumpets," "Lad o' My Love," "Thus Much I Love You," "Whoso," "Shards," "The Alchemists," "The Ferry-Bells," "Peace." It is perhaps the first of these poems that is most character- istic of the poet-mood that dominates the entire volume. There is in this verse a fine symbolism and a quiet, devout enthu- siasm. The poet's soul dwells mainly in its ideal realm, though it is tempered and humanized by the echoes of the working- day world: The stars are near above me and friendly their faces seem : Like neighbors they sit with me as I sit on the roof and dream ; They stoop like giant kinsmen and take me by the hand And lead me unresisting along their goodly land. "October" has much of the spirit of the foregoing 'poem. The thought is more extensively developed, but the theme is likewise meditative and symbolic. There is more color present, however, and at times a more spirited treatment, as these pas- sages indicate: When the bare October wind Goes tramping the scarlet hills, And the leaves like gusts of crackling fire Blow wherever the wild wind wills; When the night with Hoods of filtered light My narrow valley fills; I close my door to the world; The scenes of the day retire; I rise on the firelight's borrowed wings To the lands of old desire; For the Phoenix soul of the ages sings Through the lips of my open fire. In "Michael's Trumpets" is found grandeur and sublimity and a vigor and beauty of conception that makes this one of the most distinctive as well as one of the most powerful poems in the volume. The poem presents Liliputian and Brobdingna- gian contrasts, while its swinging lines are fraught with deli- cate melodies and tones of thunder. To the poet not only does the Archangel's call seem