 This water says, there is some secret in
you
Akin to my clear beauty, silently responsive
To all that circles you. This bare tree says, --
Austere and stark and leafless, split with frost,
Resonant in the wind, with rigid branches
Flung out against the sky, -- this tall tree says,
There is some cold austerity in you,
A frozen strength, with long roots gnarled on rocks,
Fertile and deep; you bide your time, are patient,
Serene in silence, bare to outward seeming,
Concealing what reserves of power and beauty!
What teeming Aprils! -- chorus of leaves on leaves!
— Conrad Aiken (1889-1973)
from "The House Of Dust", 1920
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