The Sword of Song

THE SWORD OF SONG 34 Known as I know my consciousness, That all divisons hosts confess A master, for I know and see The absolute identity Of the beholder and the vision. How easy to excite derision In the man’s mind ! Why, fool, I think I am as clever as yourself, At least as skilled to wake the elf Of jest and mockery in a wink. I can dismiss with sneers as cheap As your this fabric of mine own, One banner of my mind o’erthrown Just at my will. How true and deep Is Carroll47 when his Alice cries : “It’s nothing but a pack of cards !” There’s the true refuge of the wise ; To overthrow the temple guards, Deny reality. And now (I’ll quote you scripture anyhow) What did the Sage mean when he wrote (I am the Devil when I quote) “The mere terrestrial-minded man Knows not the Things of God, nor can Their subtle meaning understand ?” A sage, I say, although he mentions Perhaps the best of his inventions, God. For at first this practice tends To holy thoughts (the holy deeds Precede success) and reverent gaze Upon the Ancient One of Days, Beyond which fancy lies the Truth. To find which I have left my youth, All I held dear, and sit alone Still meditating, on my throne Of Kusha-grass,48 and count my beads, Murmer my mantra,49 till recedes The world of sense and thought—I sink 475 480 485 490 495 500 505 510 Fact replacing folklore, the Christian snig- gers. Let him beware. For I speak subtly. Results of prac- tice. The poet abandons all to find Truth.