Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/The Poet's Art
THE POET'S ART
How doth the poet weave his magic song, His warp the golden threads of living truth, With silver words and phrases for the woof,That all may blend in fabric fair and strong?He sitteth by his loom and ponders long Those things that make or mar the lives of men. From out the depths of all that he has beenHe summons back the grief, the strife, the wrongAnd lays them all beside the joy of May, From every varied hue of mortal strife He gathers in each streaming thread of lifeAnd weaves them all into his perfect lay— This is the secret of the poet's art, Nearer to God, nearer the human heart.