And Man A Spirit In Love

Four elements and five

senses, and man a spirit in love

tangling through this spun slime

to his nimbus bell kingdom come

and the lost, moonshine domes,

and the sea that hides his secret selves

deep in its black base bones,

lulling of spheres in the seashell flesh,

and this last blessing most,

that the closer i move to death,

one man through his sundered hulks,

the louder the sun blooms

and the tusked, ramshackle sea exults;

and every wave of the way

and every gale i tackle, the whole world then,

with more triumphant faith

than ever was since the world was said,

spins its morning of praise.

i hear the bouncing hills

grow larked and greener at berry brown

fall and the dew larks sing

taller this thunderclap spring, and how

more spanned with angels ride

the mansouled fiery islands! oh,

holier than their eyes

and my shining men no more alone

as i sail out to die.

--dylan thomas (from "poem on his birthday ")