PART III

THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC

Who has known heights and depths shall not again

Know peace—not as the calm heart knows

Low, ivied walls; a garden close;

And though he tread the humble ways of men

He shall not speak the common tongue again.

Who has known heights shall bear forevermore

An incommunicable thing

That hurts his heart, as if a wing

Beat at the portal, challenging;

And yet—lured by the gleam his vision wore—

Who once has trodden stars seeks peace no more.

—Mary Brent Whiteside