That Which is Grounded

There are the stars, like a broken dream, And the wind that shakes down a spray of night; So I wander here with my heart a scream, To come to the places where courage is light.

With the silver of forests I listen free, And the hoot of the water in heartless swell; I can hear the world that seldom sees, The plains that shaped by the passing bell.

For the grass where the hopes of a wretched earth Will follow the life of a single stone; And I lose the love of my mother’s worth, With the sparks of fire in my moan.

Here I watch the shadows, the nightbird cries, And the spirit of spring that is free to be, Will call from the heavens, where comfort lies, To dance as the mist coats the tortured sea.

• David Campbell