Step after step, up truth’s great pyramid,

I only noticed in my soul that part

Which lent itself to help me in my search;

And all the rest I left without a guard.

All those wild impulses, which formerly

Were but in bud, could now in quietude

Bloom forth and ripen into full grown fruits.

I thought I dwelt in highest spirit-realms,

But was in truth in deepest night of soul.

It was the strength of these same impulses