Shadows (Howe)/Interpretation

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INTERPRETATION
THESE gentle lines of Nature's face Are like a living face I love,And keen mine eyes have grown to trace What signs soe'er across it move.
To stranger eyes a peace serene Broods over all, from east to west;For them 'tis as a painted scene; For me it quivers with unrest.
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Now on the waters something stirs— A sail, a breeze, a flotsam thing;Now from the point of junipers The birds fly out on seaward wing.
Across the fields slow creatures stray, The shadows up the hillside run;And lo! through all the changeful day The miracles of wind and sun.
The signal colors of the year Are mine to watch with heedful eye;The gradual seasons drawing near Claim vigilance and constancy.
Unseen or clear the changes fall, And Nature's face that seems so stillIs full of motion mystical And boding signs for good or ill.
But ah! the spirit hid within— When shall I learn its ways to trace?The subtler skill when shall I win, And learn to read that living face?
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