SPUN LACE
by Laura Bedell
Published at Toronto, 1933
by
THE WRITERS’ STUDIO
[unnumbered page]
To all that gave my mind its wings, To raise my soul to higher things — To love that soars to reach a star, To beauty near, and beauty far That made my earth life, good and fine, I dedicate this book of mine.
[handwritten: Laura Bedell] [page 3]
CONTENTS
Spun Lace | 7 |
The Law of Beauty | 8 |
I Only Ask | 11 |
Life | 12 |
Love | 13 |
Spring | 14 |
Between the Hours | 15 |
At Last | 17 |
Harvest | 18 |
Remembering | 20 |
Dawn | 21 |
[page 5] | |
Unto the End | 22 |
Just | 25 |
A Falling Star | 26 |
Weaving | 27 |
A Little Wind | 28 |
Day | 30 |
[page 6] |
Spun Lace
Dreams, frail as spider’s silver lace, Are mine this eve; Swift as a shuttle to its place, Thoughts weave and weave. The filmy lace that veils the rose, A touch will break; And thought disturbed, a dreamer knows, May no more wake. We sense behind the spider’s lace The master art That fashioned lovely, veiled flower face, And dream-veiled heart. Our dreams are sweet: e’en though they break They had their place; For greater dreams rise from the ache, And added grace. [page 7]
The Law of Beauty
The trees draw closer at the eventide, Night, like a bird, swoops down with wings spread wide, And in their purple folds the stars abide. Across the world the incense of a rose Rises and falls with every wind that blows, And who shall tell us whither either goes? A petal thrown upon the flowing stream — So rudely taken from her flower dream Someday may more than rose or rosebud mean. The trees draw closer at the eventide, The night sweeps down where they stand side by side, And little winds catch secrets they would hide. [page 8] God meant the winds these secret things to hear, To broadcast over earthland far and near Where sea shells wait and lily bells give ear. Across the world the incense of a rose Rises and falls with every wind that blows, And who shall tell us whither either goes? But onward, upward, outward to the end Each seeming trivial thing its way must wend Through earth’s reverberant music to ascend We know not whence, nor whither, nor the why; We only sense through beauty God is nigh, And scatters gifts for every seeing eye. [page 9] The rose whose petals whither in the rain May never be a perfect rose again, Yet something sweeter blossom for her pain. But if the rose could live and breathe and pass As withered beauty through the greening grass, What hope would lesser beauty have? Alas! [page 10]
I Only Ask —
I only ask — Laughter on my lips, O Lord, That none may ever know Of sorrow that has clutched my heart And will not let me go. Music on my tongue, O Lord, That those who hear the song, May comfort take a little while And find the way less long. Love within my soul, O Lord — And all Life’s ugly scars, I’ll wear as proudly as night wears Her lovely, shining stars. [page 11]
Life
O Life so cruel, yet so sweet, I am your lover still, And I will wave reluctant hand From the last stone capped hill. O Life, tho’ hard — to you I Cling For I have loved you well — Your thorny paths, your petalled ways, Your Heaven, or your hell. [page 12]
Love
We broke a loaf, We shared the feast; For food we cared not In the least. We drank from out A crystal bowl, The while each heart Unveiled a soul; And in the interval By chance We wove into our lives Romance. In splendid silences We wove That consecrated thing Called love. [page 13]
Spring
I saw a poem On the tip of a leaf, It grew on a tree High beyond belief. The loaf was too high To reach by hand, And the poem too deep To understand. But a little bird Flew to that tree, And sang the poem Immediately. The leaf, the poem, And the song I heard From the deeps of earth, Through the song of a bird Is the passion of earth That in spring o’erflows In the budding trees, And the heart of a rose. [page 14]
Between the Hours
Across the space That us divides, Between the hours Where love abides, My wished fly, And flying find The restless, wireless Of your mind. Falter your steps In forest glade, Not weariness By labor made, But just a sound Your soul has caught Quivering thro’ space, A mother’s thought. A mother’s thought, A whispered prayer, Flung to the winds Has reached you there — You falter, listen, Pause awhile, Then in your eyes There dawns a smile. [page 15] Within the forest Scare a sound Stirs leaf above, Or fern-clad ground, Yet thro’ the silence Clear and true, A mother’s thought Went straight to you. Across the space That us divides, Between the hours Where love abides, My wishes fly, And flying find The restless, wireless Of your mind. [page 16]
At Last
Whether the way be short, Whether the way be long, It matters not — It leads to evensong. Whether my heart shall sing, Whether my heart shall bleed, My soul will find at last Its utmost need. [page 17]
Harvest
The stars and the sun and the harvest, The tree, the shrub, and the vine, Are gifts from God’s mighty vineyard — The oil and the wine. The rose, the thorn, and the thistle, Are jewels of marvelous worth, And wild, wayward things of the forest That replenish the earth. The wheat shines gold in the autumn, The wine in the chalice is red, The earth overflows with its honey Though summer be dead. Yet we hold in our hands but a moment The jewels that glitter and shine, And the gold we hoard for a century, Goes back to the mine. [page 18] We work, we toil, and we suffer, We grovel awhile in the dust, Receiving from out of earth’s coffers The wage that is just. For the things God made everlasting Are won by unlimited toil, And those who dig deepest will gather The wine and the oil The gold of the stars in the heavens Ceases not far a moment to shine, So unceasing we work if we garner The oil and the wine. [page 19]
Remembering
The words you said, The vows we took, A sacred pledge By rite and book, You placed upon my hand A ring, And now, I am Remembering. The years have fled, I wonder now, If you recall Each sacred vow? Young love was such A holy thing —— And now, I am Remembering. [page 20]
Dawn
Shivering I stood and watched the dawn — The cold gray dawn’s evolving might, I saw her bend and kiss the sea And changes its gloom to sparkling light. My heart grew warm — and then I knew By crimson writings on the sky, The lips that silvered all the sea, Caressed me, too, in passing by. [page 21]
Unto The End
Fling wide my casement! Nail the shutters back! There’s something in the out-of-doors I lack. My heart grows lighter when it feels the breeze Come kissing me that first had kissed the trees, Its breath still freighted with the scent of seas, And thoughts come flooding back into my brain— Dear, happy thoughts, yet some are tinged with pain. Oh, keep my casement open all day long! Let in the robin’s intermittent song! Let in the gold that gilds the edge of day! And in the evening when the crickets play, I’ll watch the shadows shift from pearl to grey — And on from grey to purple till at last Night fold them all in loving darkness fast. [page 22] Oh, keep my casement open! Close it not! And to the open portal wheel my cot. Let in the cool moist air of coming night And while I watch the heaven’s changing light, The splendid stars will grow a brilliant sight And shadows dipped in gold will fill my room When from the hills up rides the laggard moon. Oh, keep my casement open1 Let me feel The west wind touch my brow with must appeal; And all the fragrance of the flaming flowers, Lord, concentrate for me in these last hours; And let me breathe with more than human powers! I love them all so dearly, I would take The memory into heaven for beauty’s sake. [page 23] Oh, keep my casement open — open wide! Let in the holy hush of eventide, The quiet sound of waves upon the shore, The little earth-bound voices I adore: I need them all, I need them more and more. The end draws nearer — can it really be A spirit heaven could dearer seem to me> Oh, keep my casement open to the end! The open space has ever been my friend. Now very soon my wearied eyes must close, My body wither as the fading rose When my last breath upon the night wind goes, And like a shadow fleeing into dawn, Lights as the air my soul will wander on. [page 24]
Just
Just a little knowing Every day, Of the beauty growing On life’s way. Just a little loving, Give and take, Bearing joy or sorrow For His Sake. Just a little giving, Heart and soul, Till we make the living, Worth the goal. Just a quiet ending Into dusk, Knowing all His sending We may trust. Just a little sleeping, Or for long — Be His last gift silence Or a song. [page 25]
A Falling Star
A gate in heaven Was left ajar, And toward the earth Fell a golden star. I saw it fall — And so did you, But where it went We never knew. We only thought It might Have fallen downward Thro’ the night, Spilling its gold So silently, That only God Himself may see, But someone When the night is gone May weave the star-dust Into song. [page 26]
Weaving
One more sunkist strand, Athena, For my baby’s golden hair, I would weave a pattern, lovely As a Venus form is fair. Let me dip my brush in deeper Where the purple shadow lies, I would have a softer violet For the blue of baby eyes. Softly moulded little body, Rosebud tipped each lovely breast, Undulating hills of fairness End where little pink toes rest. Wait! Oh, wait! ye gods of beauty, Leave me not in my despair! Help me weave a heart for baby Perfect as her form is fair. [page 27]
A Little Wind
A little wind Fresh from the sea — Singing it came All blithe and free; Across the channel Swift it came — A little wind Without a name. A little wind Blew out from France, Freighted with fragrance And old romance; Swiftly it flew To a garden close Where the lupins shadow The pale primrose. [page 28] A little wind In sunkist hours, Strayed in a garden Of English flowers: And every flower In the gardens knew The wind’s sweet whistle, And fragrance too. A little wind — An hour’s free-lance, When Aeolus beckoned Returned to France; But in the garden Beside the sea, Not planted by hands, Is a Fleur-de-lis. [page 29]
Day
This radiant thing that men call day, Your rendezvous no power can stay With coming night. I cannot touch you with my hands, My soul it is that understands And loves your light. [page 30]
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