Frederick Philip Grove
THOUGHTS
(IM 1-14)

---

e-Edition by Gaby Divay
© August 2007

University of Manitoba Libraries	FPG & FrL Collections	University of Manitoba Archives

SCIENCE[11] by Frederick Philip Grove Within a lightless cave a sightless eft That gropes his way along the oozy walls, Exploring every nook and winding cleft As he, from shelf to shelf proceeding, crawls-- And dreams of light; because eons ago His ancestors had eyes and lived abroad Where shines the sun and where soft breezes blow And in swift streams gleams many a glittering gaud-- And puzzles what it is that shuts him in And hopes at every gallery[12] opening wide That here at last sure knowledge must begin, That he will reach new insight at a stride-- But every niche, though promising to lead Behind the walls, proves but part of his cave Where algous growths provide for every need With which his appetite and body crave-- But leave the longing of his breast unfed: The longing to embrace with soul and mind What this cave is[13] wherein his life is led, And he himself and all his helpless kind-- And scorns at last the search that brings no light And curls upon a smooth and jutting shelf To dream a world not lost in utter night but moulded to the nature of his self: Where he exults in such a feeling out Of the deep essence and the truth exact That but to question is to banish doubt And revelation every challenged fact-- And facts no longer limits that define How far his giant ignorance extends, But brother-beings, responsive and divine, And conscious of their own and final ends-- Then crawls again, splashing through pools and ponds, In eagerness along the walls to grope, But finds, alas, that nothing corresponds, Within this world, to dream and wish and hope-- And is a torture to himself because Within him he remembers the delight Which life in[14] sight of open spaces was And cannot understand the cloaking night:-- Such is, o God, man's high exalted state, The dignity with which he was endowed When he emerged from chaos inchoate[15] Erect, celestial-eyed, and astral-browed. Yet will he, God, go on and build his dream And in mute censure hold it up to Thee[16]: Perhaps, when he has perished, his frail scheme Will serve as model for[17] new worlds to be. In Memoriam 3