Observations placeholder
Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry - Becalmed
Identifier
011016
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – from The Poems of Longfellow [printed about 1875]
Becalmed
Becalmed upon the sea of Thought
Still unattained the land it sought
My mind, with loosely hanging sails
Lies waiting the auspicious gales
On either side, behind, before
The ocean stretches like a floor -
A level floor of amethyst
Crowned by a golden dome of mist
Blow, breath of inspiration, blow,
Shake and uplift this golden glow
And fill the canvas of the mind
With wafts of the celestial wind.
Blow, breath of song, until I feel
The straining sail, the lifting keel
The life of the awakening sea
Its motion and its mystery