The Ode Thy Soul Recites

The Ode Thy Soul Recites[1]

 

Oh, Splendored Grace

Of morning’s golden aura,

In which I venture in thy love of me,

And gain a special blessing in reward,

For learning that in all things, I am free -

 

Oh, Feathered Psalm

That flouts the clutch of earth,

And soars above a fair but distant hill

To which my heart is gathered and is kept

In thoughts so pure they overwhelm my will -

 

Oh, Thrilling Swoop

Of God’s most sudden grace

Hast lifted me in spirit to thine eye

And written golden verses in my mind

That wed my soul to wonders in the sky

 

Oh, Awesome Span

Of heaven’s doughty wings

Hast elevated me unto the heights

Of unaffected love and boundless faith,

In which I claim the ode thy soul recites.

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[1] During the early years of his retirement, Paris spent some time in the hills a few miles from Port Jervis, New York, a small town on the Pennsylvania border, about 40 miles west of Newburgh. He was not writing poetry at the time but taking photographs and wandering around on his own. Several years later, he composed the poem above. This tribute to both Wordsworth and Shelley had a special meaning for him because it affirms the romantic belief that Nature has the power to elevate one’s thoughts long after it is initially experienced. It may interest the reader to know that despite my urging to remove this grandiloquent poem from his collection, Paris insisted on its inclusion, arguing that the most important poems a common poet writes are those that acknowledge the inspiration of greater minds.