0091 The Scholar - A Dutch portrait

The scholar, in his book-lined study, sits,
walled in by printed thought in black and white;
silent; by a pool of lamplight lit;
now still in reading, or now drawn to write;

inaudible, the music of his mind,
invisible, that dazzling light, his thought;
unknown, the destiny of human kind;
unwrit, the future glories to be sought;

he like a human hour-glass: single grains
passing into future mind from past;
and in his presence, all Creation reigns,
the history of the world from first to last.

this secret glory, scholars are allowed;
so fragile; mortal; subtle; noble; proud.

poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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