Poems, Chiefly Lyrical/The Poet's Mind
For other versions of this work, see The Poet's Mind.
THE POET'S MIND.
I.Vex not thou the poet's mindWith thy shallow wit:Vex not thou the poet's mind;For thou can'st not fathom it.Clear and bright it should be ever,Flowing like a crystal river;Bright as light, and clear as wind:Clear as summer mountainstreams,Bright as the inwoven beams, Which beneath their crisping sapphireIn the midday, floating o'erThe golden sands, make evermoreTo a blossomstarréd shore.Hence away, unhallowed laugher!
II.Darkbrowed sophist, come not anear;The poet's mind is holy ground;Hollow smile and frozen sneerCome not here.Holy water will I pourInto every spicy flowerOf the laurelshrubs that hedge it around.The flowers would faint at your cruel cheer.In your eye there is death,There is frost in your breathWhich would blight the plants.Where you stand you cannot hearFrom the groves withinThe wildbird's din. In the heart of the garden the merry bird chants,It would fall to the ground if you came in.In the middle leaps a fountainLike sheet lightning,Ever brighteningWith a low melodious thunder;All day and all night it is ever drawnFrom the brain of the purple mountainWhich stands in the distance yonder:It springs on a level of bowery lawn,And the mountain draws it from Heaven above,And it sings a song of undying love;And yet, though its voice be so clear and fullYou would never hear it—your ears are so dull;So keep where you are: you are foul with sin;It would shrink to the earth if you came in.