Nature

Arcana

by Madison Cawein 1865–1914

From The Poems of Madison Cawein (1907)

Nature

Earth hath her images of utterance,
Her hieroglyphic meanings which elude;
A symbol language of similitude,
Into whose secrets science may not glance;
In which the Mind-in-Nature doth romance
In miracles that baffle if pursued--
No guess shall search them and no thought intrude
Beyond the limits of her sufferance.
So doth the great Intelligence above
Hide His own thought’s creations; and attire
Forms in the dream’s ideal, which He dowers
With immaterial loveliness and love--
As essences of fragrance and of fire--
Preaching th’ evangels of the stars and flowers.

MLA

Cawein, Madison. “Arcana.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cawein/366/.

Chicago

Cawein, Madison. “Arcana.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cawein/366/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Madison Cawein