- EXILES
EXILES are we from our very birth,
But strange memorial glimpses come
At cross-roads of this alien earth,
To trouble us with our true home.
A grey tree by a forsaken way,
A forest pool with a shadowy face —
And we breathe deep a moment and say,
"This is the place! This is the place!"
What place? We shall never, never know!
We shall die before our feet have found it.
Yet by its borders all streams flow;
And there's not a wind but blows around it!
It is near, yet far — our natural home.
That an evil magic has hidden aside;
Leaving only tokens of it, that come
To tantalize us and deride.
Exiles are we from our very birth;
And we shall die and be buried far
From that wilder, lovelier, madder earth.
Where the lost gods of our people are!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1924.
The author died in 1963, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.