I
 I heard the spring wind whisper
 Above the brushwood fire,
 "The world is made forever
 Of transport and desire.
 "I am the breath of being,
 The primal urge of things;
 I am the whirl of star dust,
 I am the lift of wings.
 "I am the splendid impulse
 That comes before the thought,
 The joy and exaltation
 Wherein the life is caught.

 "Across the sleeping furrows
 I call the buried seed,
 And blade and bud and blossom
 Awaken at my need.

 "Within the dying ashes
 I blow the sacred spark,
 And make the hearts of lovers
 To leap against the dark."II

 I heard the spring light whisper
 Above the dancing stream,
 "The world is made forever
 In likeness of a dream.

 "I am the law of planets,
 I am the guide of man;
 The evening and the morning
 Are fashioned to my plan.

 "I tint the dawn with crimson,
 I tinge the sea with blue;
 My track is in the desert,
 My trail is in the dew.

 "I paint the hills with color,
 And in my magic dome
 I light the star of evening
 To steer the traveller home.

 "Within the house of being,
 I feed the lamp of truth
 With tales of ancient wisdom
 And prophecies of youth."III

 I heard the spring rain murmur
 Above the roadside flower,
 "The world is made forever
 In melody and power.

 "I keep the rhythmic measure
 That marks the steps of time,
 And all my toil is fashioned
 To symmetry and rhyme.

 "I plow the untilled upland,
 I ripe the seeding grass,
 And fill the leafy forest
 With music as I pass.

 "I hew the raw, rough granite
 To loveliness of line,
 And when my work is finished,
 Behold, it is divine!

 "I am the master-builder
 In whom the ages trust.
 I lift the lost perfection
 To blossom from the dust."IV

 Then Earth to them made answer,
 As with a slow refrain
 Born of the blended voices
 Of wind and sun and rain,

 "This is the law of being
 That links the threefold chain:
 The life we give to beauty
 Returns to us again."