Poem: “Ode to Peace” by Henry Van Dyke

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American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Henry Van Dyke – Poems by Henry Van Dyke
< < < Song of a Pilgrim-Soul
Three Prayers for Sleep and Waking > > >

Ode to Peace

I

IN EXCELSIS

Two dwellings, Peace, are thine. One is the mountain-height,Uplifted in the loneliness of light Beyond the realm of shadows,—fine,And far, and clear,—where advent of the nightMeans only glorious nearness of the stars,And dawn unhindered breaks above the barsThat long the lower world in twilight keep.Thou sleepest not, and hast no need of sleep,For all thy cares and fears have dropped away;The night’s fatigue, the fever-fret of day,Are far below thee; and earth’s weary wars, In vain expense of passion, passBefore thy sight like visions in a glass,—Or like the wrinkles of the storm that creep Across the sea and leave no traceOf trouble on that immemorial face,—So brief appear the conflicts, and so slightThe wounds men give, the things for which they fight!Here hangs a fortress on the distant steep,— A lichen clinging to the rock.There sails a fleet upon the deep,— A wandering flockOf snow-winged gulls. And yonder, in the plain, A marble palace shines,—a grain Of mica glittering in the rain. Beneath thy feet the clouds are rolled By voiceless winds: and far betweenThe rolling clouds, new shores and peaks are seen, In shimmering robes of green and gold, And faint aerial hueThat silent fades into the silent blue. Thou, from thy mountain-hold,All day in tranquil wisdom looking downOn distant scenes of human toil and strife,All night, with eyes aware of loftier lifeUplifted to the sky where stars are sown,Dost watch the everlasting fields grow whiteUnto the harvest of the sons of light,And welcome to thy dwelling-place sublimeThe few strong souls that dare to climbThe slippery crags, and find thee on the height.

II

DE PROFUNDIS

But in the depth thou hast another home, For hearts less daring, or more frail.Thou dwellest also in the shadowy vale; And pilgrim-souls that roam With weary feet o’er hill and dale, Bearing the burden and the heat Of toilful days, Turn from the dusty waysTo find thee in thy green and still retreat. Here is no vision wide outspreadBefore the lonely and exalted seatOf all-embracing knowledge. Here, instead,A little cottage, and a garden-nook, With outlooks brief and sweetAcross the meadows, and along the brook,— A little stream that nothing knowsOf the great sea to which it gladly flows,—A little field that bears a little wheatTo make a portion of earth’s daily bread. The vast cloud-armies overhead Are marshalled, and the wild wind blows Its trumpet, but thou canst not tellWhence comes the wind nor where it goes;Nor dost thou greatly care, since all is well. Thy daily task is done,And now the wages of repose are won.Here friendship lights the fire, and every heart,Sure of itself and sure of all the rest,Dares to be true, and gladly takes its partIn open converse, bringing forth its best:And here is music, melting every chain Of lassitude and pain:And here, at last, is sleep with silent gifts,— Kind sleep, the tender nurse who liftsThe soul grown weary of the waking world, And lays it, with its thoughts all furled,Its fears forgotten, and its passions still,On the deep bosom of the Eternal Will.

< < < Song of a Pilgrim-Soul
Three Prayers for Sleep and Waking > > >

American Literature – Children Books – American Poetry – Henry Van Dyke – Poems by Henry Van Dyke

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Ode to Peace

I

IN EXCELSIS

II

DE PROFUNDIS

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