John Hall Wheelock. Triumph of the Singer. Harriet Monroe, ed. Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912-22

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22.

Triumph of the Singer

By John Hall Wheelock


I SHAKE my hair in the wind of morning
For the joy within me that knows no bounds.
I echo backward the vibrant beauty
Wherewith heaven’s hollow lute resounds.

I shed my song on the feet of all men,	5
On the feet of all shed out like wine;
On the whole and the hurt I shed my bounty,
The beauty within me that is not mine.

Turn not away from my song, nor scorn me,
Who bear the secret that holds the sky	10
And the stars together; but know within me
There speaks another more wise than I.

Nor spurn me here from your heart to hate me,
Yet hate me here if you will. Not so
Myself you hate, but the love within me	15
That loves you whether you would or no.

Here love returns with love to the lover
And beauty unto the heart thereof,
And hatred unto the heart of the hater,
Whether he would or no, with love!	20