Winter / AE

Winter

A diamond glow of winter o'er the world;
Amid the chilly halo nigh the west
Flickers a phantom violet bloom unfurled
       Dim on the twilight's breast.

Only phantasmal blooms but for an hour,
A transient beauty; then the white stars shine
Chilling the heart: I long for thee to flower,
      O bud of light divine.

But never visible to sense or thought
The flower of Beauty blooms afar withdrawn;
If in our being then we know it not,
     Or, knowing, it is gone.

~~
AE (George William Russell, 1867-1935)
from Collected Poems, 1913.

[Poem is in the public domain in Canada, the United States, and the European Union]

AE biography