The Ode Thy Soul Soul Recites

The Ode Thy Soul Recites[1]

 

(Or Ode to the Bald Eagle)

 

Oh, Splendored Being

Of Morning’s Golden Aura,

With whom I wander in a love of thee,

And gain that special blessing in reward,

For learning that in all things, I am free -

 

Oh, Feathered Psalm

That flouts the clutch of earth,

And soars above a fair but distant hill

To which my heart is gathered and is kept

In thoughts so pure they overwhelm my will -

 

Oh, Sudden Swoop

Of heaven’s seamless flight

Hast lifted me in spirit to thine eye

And written golden verses on my brow

That wed my will to wonders in the sky

 

Oh, Outspread Grace

Of this day’s doughty wings

Hast elevated me unto the heights

Of unaffected love and boundless faith,

In which I claim the ode thy soul recites.

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[1] During the early years of his retirement, Paris spent some time in the hills a few miles from Port Jervis, New York, a small town on the Pennsylvania border, about 40 miles west of Newburgh. He was not writing poetry at the time but taking photographs and wandering around on his own. Several years later, he composed the poem above. This tribute to Wordsworth and Shelley had a special meaning for him because it affirms the romantic belief that Nature has the power to elevate one’s thoughts long after it is initially experienced.