The scholar, in his book-lined study, sits,
walled in by printed thought in black and white;
silent; by a pool of lamplight lit;
now still in reading, or now drawn to write;
inaudible, the music of his mind,
invisible, that dazzling light, his thought;
unknown, the destiny of human kind;
unwrit, the future glories to be sought;
he like a human hour-glass: single grains
passing into future mind from past;
and in his presence, all Creation reigns,
the history of the world from first to last.
this secret glory, scholars are allowed;
so fragile; mortal; subtle; noble; proud.
Michael Shepherd
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/0091-the-scholar-a-dutch-portrait/
