Like to islands in the seas,
Stand our personalities--
Islands where we always face
One another's watering-place.
When we promenade our sands
We can hear each other's bands,
We can see on festal nights
Red and green and purple lights,
Gilt pavilions in a row,
Stucco houses built for show.
But our eyes can never reach
Further than the tawdry beach,
Never can they hope to win
To the wonders far within:
Jagged rocks against the sky
Where the eagles haunt and cry,
Forests full of running rills,
Darkest forests, sunny hills,
Hollows where a dragon lowers,
Sweet and unimagined flowers.