Wild-Honey

I

Where hints of racy sap and gum
Out of the old dark forest come;


Where birds their beaks like hammers wield,
And pith is pierced and bark is peeled;


Where the green walnut's outer rind
Gives precious bitterness to the wind,--


There lurks the sweet creative power,
As lurks the honey in the flower.


II

A subtile effluence floats around
Where sheathéd shootlets break the ground;


And in each blossom's magic cup,
From infinite deeps a thought comes up.


III

In winter's bud that bursts in spring,
In nut of autumn's ripening,


In acrid bulb beneath the mould,
Sleeps the elixir, strong and old,


That Rosicrucians sought in vain,--
Life that renews itself again!


IV

What bottled perfume is so good
As fragrance of split tulip-wood?


What fabled drink of god or muse
Was rich as purple mulberry-juice?


And what school-polished gem of thought
Is like a rune from Nature caught?


V

He is a poet strong and true
Who loves wild thyme and honey-dew;


And like a brown bee works and sings,
With morning freshness on his wings,


And a gold burden on his thighs,--
The pollen-dust of centuries!