A Place in the Sublime

A Place in the Sublime

 

In Praise of a Gardener[1]

 

-

 

She is a tiered and tender soul

In all that she attains

 

In charity

To holy things

The sun itself sustains

 

The tender need that sows a seed,

The faith that feeds a root

 

And binds her love

To life itself

 

In patience, resolute -

 

A stem restored, a watered leaf, a sacrifice of time

Unto her part in Providence and place in the sublime.

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[1] Paris idealized the women he loved, particularly his mother but also his wife, Myrina, and he wrote “A Place in the Sublime” with her in mind.  The virtues he saw in her love of gardening were parts of his conception of God. However, he recognized that spirit is spirit and can only be described in figurative language. So, if God turned out to be a guy, he assumed that the Almighty would be man enough to let him slide.