April Airs and Bliss

Côté Sud, Avril-Mai 2009

EARTH VOICES

I HEARD the spring wind whisper

Above the brushwood fire,

"The world is made forever

Of transport and desire.

"I am the breath of being,

The primal urge of things;

I am the whirl of star dust,

I am the lift of wings.

"I am the splendid impulse

That comes before the thought,

The joy and exaltation

Wherein the life is caught.

"Across the sleeping furrows

I call the buried seed,

And blade and bud and blossom

Awaken at my need.

"Within the dying ashes

I blow the sacred spark,

And make the hearts of lovers

To leap against the dark."

II

I heard the spring light whisper

Above the dancing stream,

"The world is made forever

In likeness of a dream.

"I am the law of planets,

I am the guide of man;

The evening and the morning

Are fashioned to my plan.

"I tint the dawn with crimson,

I tinge the sea with blue;

My track is in the desert,

My trail is in the dew.

"I paint the hills with color,

And in my magic dome

I light the star of evening

To steer the traveller home.

"Within the house of being,

I feed the lamp of truth

With tales of ancient wisdom

And prophecies of youth."

III

I heard the spring rain murmur

Above the roadside flower,

"The world is made forever

In melody and power.

"I keep the rhythmic measure

That marks the steps of time,

And all my toil is fashioned

To symmetry and rhyme.

"I plow the untilled upland,

I ripe the seeding grass,

And fill the leafy forest

With music as I pass.

"I hew the raw, rough granite

To loveliness of line,

And when my work is finished,

Behold, it is divine!

"I am the master-builder

In whom the ages trust.

I lift the lost perfection

To blossom from the dust."

IV

Then Earth to them made answer,

As with a slow refrain

Born of the blended voices

Of wind and sun and rain,

"This is the law of being

That links the threefold chain:

The life we give to beauty

Returns to us again."

—Bliss Carman 

Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet. He was born William Bliss Carman in Fredericton, in the Maritime province of New Brunswick. He published under the name "Bliss Carman," although the "Bliss" is his mother's surname.

As with many Canadian poets, nature figures prominently as a theme in his work. In his time, he was arguably Canada's best known poet, and was dubbed by some the "unofficial poet laureate of Canada." -bio excerpt, Wikipedia

"Trees Caught Dancing" photograph by LeAnn, Malibu CA 2008

Bliss Carman is now one of my favorite poets, but I hadn't even heard of him until about a year ago when I ran across the above poem "Earth Voices."  Upon further research, I found it is from one of his books published in 1916.  It turned out that these verses I had felt such a connection to were from "April Airs."  This had significance to me because not only is the subject matter close to my heart,  April is my birth month.  —Fast forward to a few days ago, having just celebrated my birthday on April 12th:

I had been contemplating sharing some of the poetry from April Airs this month here on linen & lavender. I don't own a copy of it yet, but I did find an on-line version and so began reading other works from this book.  Another poem called "Garden Magic" (see bottom of post) resonated with me so much I almost felt it could have been written for me personally.  (Typical Aries mentality, I admit!)  

In delving further for information about Mr. Carman, I was surprised and delighted to learn that he was born just three days from me on April 15th.  I decided then that I would wait until his birthday to publish this post.  However, there would be one more little sign that providence was at play...

In finishing this post, I noticed Bliss passed away on June 8th.  In light of all the other connections I seemed to have to him and his work, it crossed my mind that maybe June 8th might be significant to me in some way.

I thought:   I started writing linen & lavender in June, but what are the odds?  Could the inaugural post have happened on the 8th? 

I immediately dismissed it as being too much of a long shot.   ...But just for fun and curiosity's sake, I had to check, of course. . .   I'm sure you can guess. . .  –That's right. —June 8th! 

It would seem I have some sort of cosmic connection to this talented gentleman.  —Maybe just a fellow Aries sending me signs to ensure him publicity?(!) — Whatever the reason, I'm happy to have found him and his inspiring work.

 Thanks, Bliss!  

..

April Airs, A Book of New England Lyrics, (1916)

Bliss Carman, Canadian Poet (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) Bliss Carman was the great-grandson of United Empire Loyalists who fled to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution, settling in New Brunswick (then part of Nova Scotia). His literary roots run deep with an ancestry that includes a mother who was a descendant of Daniel Bliss of Concord, Massachusetts, the great-grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Also on his mother's side, he was a first cousin to another famous Canadian poet, Sir Charles G. D. Roberts.  -bio excerpt, Wikipedia

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GARDEN MAGIC

WITHIN my stone-walled garden

(I see her standing now,

Uplifted in the twilight,

With glory on her brow!)

I love to walk at evening

And watch, when winds are low,

The new moon in the tree-tops,

Because she loved it so!

And there entranced I listen,

While flowers and winds confer,

And all their conversation

Is redolent of her.

I love the trees that guard it,

Upstanding and serene,

So noble, so undaunted,

Because that was her mien.

I love the brook that bounds it,

Because its silver voice

Is like her bubbling laughter

That made the world rejoice.

I love the golden jonquils,

Because she used to say,

If Soul could choose a color

It would be clothed as they.

I love the blue-gray iris,

Because her eyes were blue,

Sea-deep and heaven-tender

In meaning and in hue.

I love the small wild roses,

Because she used to stand

Adoringly above them

And bless them with her hand.

These were her boon companions.

But more than all the rest

I love the April lilac,

Because she loved it best.

Soul of undying rapture!

How loves enchantment clings,

With sorcery and fragrance,

About familiar things!

                                                                       -Bliss Carman

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