The Poems of Sidney Lanier by Sidney Lanier
page 267 of 312 (85%)
page 267 of 312 (85%)
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And fangs of snakes and lures of doves to me
Are vain, are vain, Nirvana. So by mine inner contemplation long, By thoughts that need no speech nor oath nor song, My spirit soars above the motley throng Of days and nights, Nirvana. O Suns, O Rains, O Day and Night, O Chance, O Time besprent with seven-hued circumstance, I float above ye all into the trance That draws me nigh Nirvana. Gods of small worlds, ye little Deities Of humble Heavens under my large skies, And Governor-Spirits, all, I rise, I rise, I rise into Nirvana. The storms of Self below me rage and die. On the still bosom of mine ecstasy, A lotus on a lake of balm, I lie Forever in Nirvana. ____ Macon, Georgia, 1869. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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