Classic Poem

Alas, the outer emptiness,
What life has it to give!
O shall it God's own fire oppress?
Soul, wilt thou lightly live?

Some joy of thine own seeking win,
To thine own strength repair;
Breathe, breathe the awful life within,
Feel all the glory there!

Thyself amid the silence clear,
The world far off and dim,
Thy vision free, thy God so near,
Thyself alone with him!

The rapture, mighty, measureless,
In each eternal thing;
The mingling with Almightiness,
The dwelling by life's Spring!

Thus deeply live, thus greatly watch,
Soul, be thus inly bright,
All outer things must smile, must catch
The strong, transcendent light.