Page:Poetry, a magazine of verse, Volume 7 (October 1915-March 1916).djvu/386

POETRY: A Magazine of Verse And the city had a legion Of men who make a business of religion— With eyes one inch apart, Dark and narrow of heart— Who give themselves and give the city no peace, And who are everywhere the best police For Life as business. And when they saw this youth Was telling the truth And that his followers were multiplying, And were going about rejoicing and defying The social order, and were stirring up The dregs of discontent in the cup With the hand of their own happiness, They saw dynamic mysteries In the poems of lilies and trees: Therefore they held him for a felony.


 * If you will take a kernel of wheat

And first make free The outer flake, and then pare off the meat Of edible starch, you'll find at the kernel's core The life germ. And this young man's words were dim With blasphemy, sedition at the rim, Which fired the heads of dreamers like new wine. But this was just the outward force of him For this young man's philosophy was more Than such external ferment, being divine