These are the things I hold divine;
A trusting child's hand laid in mine,
Rich brown earth and wind-tossed trees,
The taste of grapes and the drone of bees,
A rhythmic gallop, long June days,
A rose-hedged lane and lover's lays,
The welcome smile on neighbors' faces,
Cool, wide hills and open places,
Breeze-blown fields of silver rye,
The wild, sweet notes of the plover's cry,
Fresh spring showers and scent of box,
The soft pale tint of the garden flox,
Lilacs blooming, a drowsy noon,
A flight of geese and an autumn moon,
Rolling meadows and storm-washed heights,
A fountain murmur on summer nights,
A dappled fawn in the forest hush,
Simple words and the song of a thrush,
Rose-red dawns and a mate to share
With comrade soul my gypsy fare,
A waiting fire when the twilight ends,
A gallant heart and the voice of friends.
To link the second line with the first, think of the natural
association of thought between the words "Divine" and "trusting." Form
the definite visual picture of the "trusting child's hand laid in mine."
Your thought will quickly pass to the duplex meaning of the word
"mine." It means possession, my own, and also a mine in the earth.
When we start a mine the first thing to come out is "rich brown earth"
and that is the next thought. Let the word "mine" of the second line
suggest the picture of the opening to the mine and the pile of "rich
brown earth" beside it.
Behind a pile of rich brown earth, see the "wind-tossed trees", the
next thought. Hanging on the "trees" see huge bunches of grapes, you
pick and taste one, this is the next thought, "the taste of grapes."
Around the grapes flies a swarm of bees, hear their "drone," the next
thought, "the drone of bees." Let the drone of the bees suggest to
you a rhythm and this will bridge your mind over to the thought of a
"rhythmic gallop"; the answer to the question, "When do you like to
gallop?" suggests "Long June days" the next thought.
June is the time of roses, suggesting "A rose-hedged lane"--the
natural place for "lovers' lays." You can easily construct a "bridge"
which will bind all the independent thoughts together. Visualize each
thought, and watch for alliteration and alphabetical repetition.