JOY . weaving two violet petals for a coat lapel . painting on a slab of night sky a Christ face . slipping new brass keys into rusty iron locks and shouldering till at last the door gives and we are in a new room . forever and ever violet petals, slabs, the Christ face, brass keys and new rooms.
are we near or far?. is there anything else?. who comes back?. and why does love ask nothing and give all? and why is love rare as a tailed comet shaking guesses out of men at telescopes ten feet long? why does the mystery sit with its chin on the lean forearm of women in gray eyes and women in hazel eyes?
are any of these less proud, less important, than a cross-examining lawyer? are any of these less perfect than the front page of a morning newspaper?
the answers are not computed and attested in the back of an arithmetic for the verifications of the lazy
there is no authority in the phone book for us to call and ask the why, the wherefore, and the howbeit it’s . a riddle . by God.
(Carl Sandburg)
More Poetry from Carl Sandburg:
Carl Sandburg Poems based on Topics: Man, Woman, Night, Faces, God, Morning, Law & Regulation, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Mystery, Joy & Excitement- And This Will Be All.... (Carl Sandburg Poems)
- And So To-Day (Carl Sandburg Poems)
- To A Contemporary (Carl Sandburg Poems)
- A Father To His Son (Carl Sandburg Poems)
- Arithmetic (Carl Sandburg Poems)
- California City Landscape (Carl Sandburg Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Night Poems, Faces Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Christianity Poems, Jesus Christ Poems, Morning Poems, Woman Poems, Law & Regulation Poems, Mystery PoemsBased on Keywords: slabs, shouldering, comet, arithmetic, guesses, howbeit, telescopes, attested, forearm, lapel, tailed