Nike

What do men give thanks for?

I give thanks for one,

Lovelier than morning,

Dearer than the sun.

Such a head the victors

Must have praised and known,

With that breast and bearing,

Nike's very own —

As superb, untrammeled,

Rhythmed and poised and free

As the strong pure sea-wind

Walking on the sea;

Such a hand as Beauty

Uses with full heart,

Seeking for her freedom

In new shapes of art;

Soft as rain in April,

Quiet as the days

Of the purple asters

And the autumn haze;

With a soul more subtle

Than the light of stars,

Frailer than a moth's wing

To the touch that mars;

Wise with all the silence

Of the waiting hills,

When the gracious twilight

Wakes in them and thrills;

With a voice more tender

Than the early moon

Hears among the thrushes

In the woods of June;

Delicate as grasses

When they lift and stir —

One sweet lyric woman —

I give thanks for her.