Mystical state, that rare condition of beautiful
illusions when the feet are off the ground, when, on some occasions, we
appear to be one with nature, unbodied like the poet's bird, floating,
diffused in it. There are also other occasions when this transfigured
aspect of nature produces the idea that we are in communion with or in
the presence of unearthly entities.
THE VISIONARY
I
It must be true, I've somtimes thought,
That beings from some realm afar
Oft wander in the void immense,
Flying from star to star.
In silence through this various world,
They pass, to mortal eyes unseen,
And toiling men in towns know not
That one with them has been.
But oft, when on the woodland falls
A sudden hush, and no bird sings;
When leaves, scarce fluttered by the wind,
Speak low of sacred things,
My heart has told me I should know,
In such a lonely place, if one
From other worlds came there and stood
Between me and the sun.
II
At noon, within the woodland shade
I walked and listened to the birds;
And feeling glad like them I sang
A low song without words.
When all at once a radiance white,
Not from the sun, all round me came;
The dead leaves burned like gold, the grass
Like tongues of emerald flame.
