The Vesture of the Soul

I pitied one whose tattered dress
Was patched, and stained with dust and rain;
He smiled on me; I could not guess
The viewless spirit’s wide domain.

He said, ‘The royal robe I wear
Trails all along the fields of light:
Its silent blue and silver bear
For gems the starry dust of night.’

‘The breath of joy unceasingly
Waves to and fro its folds starlit,
And far beyond earth’s misery
I live and breathe the joy of it.’