Barbarians

I pause beside the stream and hear
The waters talking all the way ;
If I had a proper ear
I could tell you what they say.

The lovely tree against the sky,
Which the first sun rests upon.
Has a message for my eye,
If I had a proper one.

On the heath I met a wind,
It whispered to me as I stood ;
If I had a proper mind
I could answer, so I could.

I am deaf and dumb and blind,
No reply can I invent
When a stream, a tree, a wind
Asks am I intelligent.

Songs From The Clay [1915]