O SOUL of souls, awake! Lift up thine eyes

To meet the dayspring, till their spherÈd skies

Flash answering light to pierce the clinging veil

Of mists and shadows of the night grown pale.

Renascent, leave the tombment of thy bed,

Though rich with painted love of legend dead,

And gilded with the gold of hallowed time,

And dim with dreams and darkness of the prime.

O joy of Man, arise! Behold Time brings

Deliverance for thee, and thoughts’ swift wings

Are dyed afresh in iris hues of Hope

Who paints for thee, by her creative scope,

New heaven in earth renewed before thy sight,

With golden fields unreaped and fresh delight

Of flower, and fruit of no forbidden tree,

O Bride of Light! Like Aphrodite rise

From rosy waves of morn that crystallize

Thy sacred image in their mirror, smooth

As sculpture of the shining limbs they soothe;

And clothe thyself in pureness like the sun,

With lily lawn and blue of heaven, spun

From spotless fields of interstellar space—

A seamless shrine to keep thy inward grace.

Put on thy broidered robe, thy bride’s attire,

Put on thy glory, and the jewel fire

Of fearless thought, nor let thine handmaids spare,

All grateful tribute from the sweet and fair

To deck thy loveliness, and make appear

The fullness of the beauty thou dost wear:

But let no crown thy golden head dethrone

Except the coronal of wisdom’s own.

Fare forth, fair Bride, and from thy chamber come,

Lo! they are waiting who shall lead thee home:

The winged procession of the eager Hours,

Before thy feet to pave the way with flowers;

The Daughters of the Year, the Seasons Four,

Have decked the happy earth with sun and shower;

Each joyful mouth, each blissful day is swift

The Sisters Three, who plough, and sow, and reap,

Still gather thee Time’s grain in growing heap,

From golden age to golden age to be;

Their dreamful faces rapt in prophecy

Of veiled futurity’s potential hour

Where Fate prepareth thine immortal dower.

Arise, sweet soul! Arise, and take thy throne,

Upbuilt in ages long by stone on stone—

The human spirit’s still aspiring stair

Whose marble feet were laid in toil and care,

And washed with tears, and worn in eager quest

Of false and fleeting phantoms, seeking rest.

But now thy feet are fledged and would aspire

To climb the summit of thy hope’s desire,

High where in sculptured walls and towers rise

Her architecture, white in azure skies,

Tinged with the fire of dawn above thy head—

Ah! there, fair soul, thy marriage feast is spread.

And there, with Wisdom still, and Knowledge clear,

Sweet counsel shalt thou take, and without fear,

For Love will give thee law, and Love shall be

Thy chancellor and rule equality.

No sceptre shall thy white right hand e’er hold

Of kingships, and blessing by the power

That crowns life’s magic staff with bud and flower:

Nor be thy sister hand forgotten sole,

The while her slender fingers do control

The world’s large heart, and in its compass found

The wealth of all the universe embound.

And thou shalt open the eternal reign

Of Justice; while fair Peace, with all her train,

Shall sow the earth with blessings and impart

New joy and skill to men in Craft and Art;

To gather from all shores the scattered gems

With beauty’s pearls to deck thought’s diadems:

And Poesy shall fill thy courts with song,

And Commonwealth the ocean gateways throng

With white-winged messengers from all the lands

And tidings glad shall join the nation’s hands,

From riches and from penury set free,

And from the last dread link of slavery;

And eke from tyrant sword, and tyrant gold,

And priestly nightmare that the soul doth fold.

There Giant Labour in his strength new-found,

Rejoicing, shall go forth to break new ground,

One brotherhood with Art and Knowledge clear;

To bridge the gulf of space and bring men near;

Of Titan forces to subdue the earth,

And from the willing hands of nature draw

New benefits, and, owning but her law,

Out of her treasury things tried and true,

In human faith and hope to build anew

Man’s shattered house, and paint his storied wall

For Life and Love, a heritage for all.