The Voice of the Valley/Song of Day
Song of Day
in Yosemite Valley
Song of Day in Yosemite Valley
O thunderous opening of the unseen gate of solemn Heaven's Eternal Court!
Behold, clouds, tenants of the sky, sweep down from the Heavens unto a secret palace under the Earth!—
Aye, mighty Yosemite!—a glorious troop of the unsuffering souls of gods
Marches on with battle-sound against the unknown castle of Hell!—
Aye, a divine message of Heaven unto Earth—the darksome house of mortals—to awake!
Hark—the heart-broken cry of a great Soul!—
Nay, the tempestuous song of Heaven's organ throbbing wild peace through the sky and land!
The Shout of Hell wedded to the Silence of Heaven completes the Valley concert, forms the true symphony—
The Female-light kissing the breast of the the Male-shadow chants the sacred Union!
I, a muse from the Orient, where is revealed the light of dawn
Harken to the welcome strains of genii from the heart of the great Sierras—
I repose under the forest-boughs that invoke the Deity's hymn from the Nothing-air.
Here, brother mortal, lies the path, like Beauty's arm, guiding thee into the Heaven afar!—
Alone I stray by the mountain walls that support the enameled mirror-sky,
Enfolding my free-born soul in the vice-purifying odors of the forest from an unknown corner of Paradise.
Art thirsty?—here rolls the snow-robed water for thy fulfillment;
Does dullness veil thee?—here a stone chamber invites thee into the world of dreams through an unseen door.
O return, brother mortal, from Samsara unto the great Valley!
Yea, the mighty Temple of the World, everlasting with the heaven and earth, welcomes thee!
Behold! Yosemite, sermoning Truth and Liberty, battles in spirit with the Pacific Ocean afar!
O unfading wonder, eternal glory! I pray a redemption from the majesty that chains me—
(Lo, Hell offers a great edifice unto Heaven!) O, I bid my envy and praise rest against thee;
I am content in the sounding Silence, in the powerless Time that holds the Valley in the age of gold;
I proffer my stainful body and leprous soul with blackest shame unto thee;
I am united with the Universe, and the Universe with me.
O hail, brother mortal! the true joy is revealed unto thee—
Be thou a wave ebbing and flowing with the air of Heaven!
Behold! The genii of the forest chant Peace unto the Lord from an unknown shrine in the Valley temple.
O mighty chapel of God! Thou knowest not an iron chariot stained with hostile blood;—
Aye, idle spears and foolish shields dare not ruin thee, proclaiming War in Eternity!
Behold, clouds, tenants of the sky, sweep down from the Heavens unto a secret palace under the Earth!—
Aye, mighty Yosemite!—a glorious troop of the unsuffering souls of gods
Marches on with battle-sound against the unknown castle of Hell!—
Aye, a divine message of Heaven unto Earth—the darksome house of mortals—to awake!
Hark—the heart-broken cry of a great Soul!—
Nay, the tempestuous song of Heaven's organ throbbing wild peace through the sky and land!
The Shout of Hell wedded to the Silence of Heaven completes the Valley concert, forms the true symphony—
The Female-light kissing the breast of the the Male-shadow chants the sacred Union!
I, a muse from the Orient, where is revealed the light of dawn
Harken to the welcome strains of genii from the heart of the great Sierras—
I repose under the forest-boughs that invoke the Deity's hymn from the Nothing-air.
Here, brother mortal, lies the path, like Beauty's arm, guiding thee into the Heaven afar!—
Alone I stray by the mountain walls that support the enameled mirror-sky,
Enfolding my free-born soul in the vice-purifying odors of the forest from an unknown corner of Paradise.
Art thirsty?—here rolls the snow-robed water for thy fulfillment;
Does dullness veil thee?—here a stone chamber invites thee into the world of dreams through an unseen door.
O return, brother mortal, from Samsara unto the great Valley!
Yea, the mighty Temple of the World, everlasting with the heaven and earth, welcomes thee!
Behold! Yosemite, sermoning Truth and Liberty, battles in spirit with the Pacific Ocean afar!
O unfading wonder, eternal glory! I pray a redemption from the majesty that chains me—
(Lo, Hell offers a great edifice unto Heaven!) O, I bid my envy and praise rest against thee;
I am content in the sounding Silence, in the powerless Time that holds the Valley in the age of gold;
I proffer my stainful body and leprous soul with blackest shame unto thee;
I am united with the Universe, and the Universe with me.
O hail, brother mortal! the true joy is revealed unto thee—
Be thou a wave ebbing and flowing with the air of Heaven!
Behold! The genii of the forest chant Peace unto the Lord from an unknown shrine in the Valley temple.
O mighty chapel of God! Thou knowest not an iron chariot stained with hostile blood;—
Aye, idle spears and foolish shields dare not ruin thee, proclaiming War in Eternity!