There was, before me
There was, before me,
Mile upon mile
Of snow, ice, burning sand.
And yet I could look beyond all this,
To a place of infinite beauty;
And I could see the loveliness of her
Who walked in the shade of the trees.
When I gazed,
All was lost
But this place of beauty and her.
When I gazed,
And in my gazing, desired,
Then came again
Mile upon mile,
Of snow, ice, burning sand.





Related poetry:
- On The Garden Wall Oh, once I walked a garden In dreams. ‘Twas yellow grass. And many orange-trees grew there In sand as white […]...
- Barter Life has loveliness to sell, All beautiful and splendid things; Blue waves whitened on a cliff, Soaring fire that sways […]...
- Sonnet 04 If I was drawn here from a distant place, ‘Twas not to pray nor hear our friend’s address, But, gazing […]...
- From The Flats What heartache ne’er a hill! Inexorable, vapid, vague and chill The drear sand-levels drain my spirit low. With one poor […]...
- Tranquillity This morning on my pensive walk I saw a fisher on a rock, Who watched his ruby float careen In […]...
- Yellow One pearly day of early May I strolled upon the sand, And saw, say half-a-mile away A man with gun […]...
- Nocturne III One night One night all full of murmurings, of perfumes and music of wings; One night In which fantastic fireflies […]...
- Dream Song 73: Karensui, Ryoan-ji The taxi makes the vegetables fly. ‘Dozo kudasai,’ I have him wait. Past the bright lake up into the temple, […]...
- Winter Landscape The three men coming down the winter hill In brown, with tall poles and a pack of hounds At heel, […]...
- From "THE TALK OF FLOWERS" I do not know, whether the sun Accomplished it, The rain or wind – But I was missing so The […]...
- The House Of Dust: Part 01: 03: One, where the pale sea foamed at the yellow sand One, where the pale sea foamed at the yellow sand, With wave upon slowly shattering wave, Turned to the city […]...
- Bond and Free Love has earth to which she clings With hills and circling arms about Wall within wall to shut fear out. […]...
- Beauty XXV And a poet said, “Speak to us of Beauty.” Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her […]...
- Sonnet III There was a youth around whose early way White angels hung in converse and sweet choir, Teaching in summer clouds […]...
- Lost in the Prairie In one of fhe States of America, some years ago, There suddenly came on a violent storm of snow, Which […]...
- Approaching The Veil, Scientifically Eyes like stars sparkle and die And cycle into new stars, new eyes. The answer is outside our window. Astronomers […]...
- When the Rose is Faded When the rose is faded, Memory may still dwell on Her beauty shadowed, And the sweet smell gone. That vanishing […]...
- Hope in Failure THOUGH now thou hast failed and art fallen, despair not because of defeat, Though lost for a while be thy […]...
- Two Seasons I The stars were wild that summer evening As on the low lake shore stood you and I And every […]...
- Snowy Night Last night, an owl In the blue dark Tossed An indeterminate number Of carefully shaped sounds into The world, in […]...