Poems (Dodd)/The Magician
THE MAGICIAN.
"I remember reading, long ago, an eastern story of a Dervise, who had a mystic ointment with which, when the eyes were touched, all the hidden, precious things of earth were given to view. The gold and silver shone within the mountain, and the diamonds glistened in the secret mines; so it is with Loven who is the fine magician, showing all the veiled treasures of the heart."
In eastern lands was a Dervise old,Who could all the treasures of earth unfold;He touched the eyes with an ointment rare,And the precious things of the mine lay bare.
The ruby its light to his vision gave,And the diamond flashed in the secret cave;There the jet-and the jasper-stone were seen,With the yellow amber and emerald green.
And why should the Dervise note, or care,Though the rocks were rough and the mountains bare?Enough for him to see, and know,That countless treasures lay hid below.
He walked the earth with footsteps light,For his path was paved with silver bright,And beneath the stones, moss-grown and old,He beheld rich piles of gleaming gold.
Where others looked on the barren earth,Which scarce to a shrub or flower gave birth,He smiled to see all the precious gems,Which glitter in princely diadems.
And thus he dwelt in a vision bright,Rejoicing aye in his charméd sight,And the power which could at will impart,The hidden things in the earth's deep heart.
And so when Love, the magician fine,Shall touch the heart with his wand divine,For him unfolds a treasured storeOf precious things that were veiled before.
And though cold the outward mein may be,Yet his eye a fire within can see;And there to his piercing gaze are brought,The gems of fancy and pearls of thought.
He bathes the eyes with a magic light,Till the darkest scenes of life grow bright;And the way seems free from toil and pain,For the rough is smooth and the doubtful plain.
He tunes the "harp of a thousand strings,"And sweeter music abroad it flings;And the soul is steeped in blissful dreams,Till the trying world an Eden seems.
Oh, powerful Love! he wins by stealth,The human heart with its priceless wealth;He enters the veil around it cast,And with silken fetters binds it fast.