We need no barbarous words nor solemn spell
To raise the unknown. It lies before our feet;
There have been men who sank down into Hell
In some suburban street,
And some there are that in their daily walks
Have met archangels fresh from sight of God,
Or watched how in their beans and cabbage-stalks
Long files of faerie trod.
Often me too the Living voices call
In many a vulgar and habitual place,
I catch a sight of lands beyond the wall,
I see a strange god's face.
And some day this work will work upon me so
I shall arise and leave both friends and home
And over many lands a pilgrim go
Through alien woods and foam,
Seeking the last steep edges of the earth
Whence I may leap into that gulf of light
Wherein, before my narrowing Self had birth,
Part of me lived aright.
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I think that in this poem, Lewis was trying to say that the spiritual world is not so distant as we often assume. That it is here, with us, even though we cannot normally see it. 'We need no barbarous words nor solemn spell, to raise the unknown. It lies before our feet; '
The last two verses of the poem speak of how one day we will return to that place, most often referred to as heaven or paradise, a place where we will meet with God when our life ends. It is wonderful to think that one day, whether we see it on earth or not, we will really witness those spiritual events that we have heard tell of, especially in the prophetic books of the Bible. I like this poem because it reminds me of the spiritual perspective on life, something we tend to forget because we cannot see it all the time.
That is a good poem; I don't think I've read it before. I liked your commentary on it.
ReplyDeleteCS Lewis said that we often miss the supernatural precisely because it is written across the universe in such big letters that we cannot perceive what is obvious with our finite vision. The spiritual world is right under our nose, but we are so closed-minded that we often miss it.
I've just started listening to a little bit of Celtic music over the past couple of months. I think I was attracted to it because of how hauntingly beautiful it can be. Enya is a good example. I haven't listened to much real traditional Celtic music other than Orla Fallon. I will definitely have to check out Loreena Mckennit. Hayley Westenra isn't a Celtic artist, but she has an album called Celtic Treasure that I really like as well.
Regards and thanks for your comment,
Aldawen