Classic Poem

I HAVE followed the flush of the morn
To the heart of the sun.
Aurora, the spirit of Dawn,
Ere the day has begun,
Has winnowed the way of the wind
For the beat of my wings,
Above the dim haunts of mankind
To the essence of things.

Apollo awaits me afar
With his horses in-reined,
As I float with the faint morning star
Where the ether is stained.
By the crimson that flares as he sweeps
Down the fire-touched mist,
As his chariot wavers and leaps
From the heights amethyst.

I swing in the nebulous space
Till I welcome the shroud
Of night; — and the stars in their race
Are singing aloud,
They chant of the past, — of the days
When the song of the spheres,
The rhythm of prayer and of praise
Knew no mortal ears.

Orion has thrown me his belt
As a life-line of light,
The Pleiades shimmer and melt
As a lure to my sight, —
Arcturus points up to the crown,
To the crown I have won —
I am morning and night, I have mown
My path to the sun.

Must I fall from the kingdom of air
To the bondage of earth,
Man calls me his shackles to bear,
For 'twas he gave me birth.
His vision has buoyed my flight,
Has given me grace
To conquer the dawn and the night,
And the infinite space.

Man-made, I have pierced the wide blue
Of the heavens on high,
Nor Hermes, winged God, as he flew
Were freer than I —
Man-made, as a God, lo! I dare
Olympus to span —
I am kin to the uttermost air,
Yet the daughter of Man!