On a mountain top above the clouds
That streamed like a sea below me
I said that peak is the thought of Budda,
And that one is the prayer of Jesus,
And this one is the dream of Plato,
And that one there the song of Dante,
And this is Kant and this is Newton,
And this is Milton and this is Shakespeare,
And this the hope of the Mother Church,
And this — why all these peaks are poems,
Poems and prayers that pierce the clouds.
And I said “What does God do with mountains
That rise almost to heaven?”

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edgar Lee Masters's poem Judson Stoddard

4 Comments

  1. A Student says:

    So, is Masters comparing mountains with poems, saying each peak has a different meaning? Or do the mountains symbolize something?

  2. kayden says:

    wow, thats great! have a good life.

  3. Son says:

    I love this poem as well. I have a website that has weekly poems, inspire and quotes. I will be adding this one. go to massageme dot com dot au to subscribe
    Sonya

  4. Theresa Moreno says:

    Thank you for witing such a Beautiful peom.
    I hope everyone else will enjoy it as much as I do.
    you do not see peoms this Beautiful any more.
    Again Thank You.

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