He knew that heaven and God were near to humanity and earth. He was not
afraid of death. He teaches us all Christian courage in this line of
thought. He knew that his "Greek Heights" were very near to heaven
because he knew that anywhere is near to heaven to the believer:
"Be this my home till some fair star
Stoops earthward and shall beckon me;
For surely God-land lies not far
From these Greek Heights and this great sea!"
He yearned to teach men to believe in this God and his nearness; this
God in whom he believed with all his heart. This cry out of his soul,
written just a few days before his death, is like Tennyson's "Crossing
The Bar" in that it was his swan song:
"Could I but teach man to believe,
Could I but make small men to grow,
To break frail spider webs that weave
About their thews and bind them low.
Could I but sing one song and lay
Grim Doubt; I then could go my way
In tranquil silence, glad, serene,
And satisfied from off the scene.
But Ah! this disbelief, this doubt,
This doubt of God, this doubt of God
The damned spot will not out!
Wouldst learn to know one little flower,
Its perfume, perfect form, or hue?
Yea, wouldst thou have one perfect hour
Of all the years that come to you?
Then grow as God hath planted, grow
A lovely oak, or daisy low,
As he hath set his garden; be
Just what thou art, or grass or tree.
Thy treasures up in heaven laid
Await thy sure ascending soul:
Life after life--be not afraid I"
Yes, Miller believed in home, in Christ, and God and immortality. He
believed that heaven and God were near to man, and in his last days
there was no doubt. Thus his own writings confirm what Mrs. Miller, on
that memorable afternoon, made certain by her warm, tear-wet, personal
testimony. And as she quoted these last lines, and the sun had set
behind the Golden Gate, which we could even then see from the room in
which we sat, we felt as though Miller himself were near, listening as
she read, listening with us. And these are the last verses that she
quoted, which seem fit verses with which to close this chapter study of
Joaquin Miller:
"I will my ashes to my steeps,
I will my steeps, green cross, red rose,
To those who love the beautiful,
Come, learn to be of those."
And is it any wonder that, as we sat in the twilight listening to that
invitation to his home, these words made the red roses and the green
cross of Christ against the hill our very own? And is it any wonder
that, as she quoted these last verses we felt him near to us?
"Enough to know that I and you
Shall breathe together there as here
Some clearer, sweeter atmosphere,
Shall walk, high, wider ways above
Our petty selves, shall learn to lead
Man up and up in thought and deed.
and,
"Come here when I am far away,
Fond lovers of this lovely land,
And sit quite still and do not say,
'Turn right or left and lend a hand,'
But sit beneath my kindly trees
And gaze far out yon sea of seas.
These trees, these very stones could tell
How much I loved them and how well,
And maybe I shall come and sit
Beside you; sit so silently
You will not reck of it."
[Illustration: ALAN SEEGER]