THE soul of man Is like the water; From heaven it cometh, To heaven returneth— Ever and forever changing. From lofty rocky walls, Swift leaps the glowing flood; Then in the valley spreads it gently O'er the rocks in cloudy billows,— Billows ever kindly welcomed,— Veils its murmur as it wanders Downward to the waiting deep. Cliffs projecting Oft oppose it; Angry, foaming, Downward moves it, Step by step. Now in smoother channels Through a flowery meadow winds it. Till, within the lake reflected, Gaze entranced the constellations. Wind is the loving Wooer of the waters; Wind together blendeth The all-foaming billows. Soul of man, How like the water Fate of man, How like the wind! |