Page:Frank Owen - Rare Earth, 1931.djvu/56

 CHANTS, PERFUME PICTURES. They were slender books, scarcely more than pamphlets.

"Collections of poems," he used to say, "should not be heavy. Heavy, ponderous jewels are in bad taste. So too poems in volume form should be fragile."

Hung Long Tom poured his very soul into his work. He worked with an intensity that made him a genius. Genius is nine-tenths enthusiasm. It is enthusiasm that makes poems and stories burn with a living fire. He wrote with utter simplicity. Long words and unintelligibility do not denote masterpieces. The Mystic Rose was a fair sample of his style. O lovely flower, From thy sweet perfume The nightingale draws song, The stars themselves Reflect your sadness. When your head is bowed In grief over some tragedy In the garden They hide behind curtains