This is a composite image of Ka'ikena O'Iao Valley, West Maui, Hawai'i. © 2007 Sharon A Coultrap ~ Mahalo! ~ EARTH VOICES by: Bliss Carman (1861-1929) 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." 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 colour, 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." 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." 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."