The Song of a Nature Worshiper by Cale Young Rice
Live! Live! Live!
O send no day unto death,
Undrained of the light, of the song, of the dew,
Distilling within its breath.
Drink deep of the sun, drink deep of the night,
Drink deep of the tempest’s brew,
Of summer, of winter, of autumn, of spring—
Whose flight can give what men never give!—
Live!
Live! Live! Live!
And love life’s every throb:
The twinkling of shadows enmeshed in the trees,
The passionate sunset’s sob;
The hurtling of wind, the heaving of hill,
The moon-dizzy cloud, the seas
That sweep with infinite sweeping all shores,
And thrill with a joy unfugitive!—
Live!
Live! Live! Live!
Unloose from custom and care,
From duty and sorrow and clinging design
Thy soul, through the silent Air.
Go into the fields where Nature’s alone
And drink from her mystic wine
Divinity—till thou art even as She,
Great all ills of the world to forgive!
Live!