The Nature of the World

Drops of water
Fray a thread of silk, Laughter brings me here, Like a white cloud, Dawning on the light, Wet, like the earth.

But I feel the stones, Under a light shower, Like the treads of feet, Beneath a tread of water, Where life expands,
And mass and weight
Of the joyous air.

In pleasure, blisters are clear, Like the glass that holds; And during fresh hours,
With soft shadows, That mock the dilating spring, I feel that nature is, A quivering truth,
Without body or design.

• T E Hulme