Even when seen from near, the olive shows / A hue of far away. Perhaps for this / The dove brought olive back

(…)

Even when seen from near, the olive shows
A hue of far away. Perhaps for this
The dove brought olive back, a tree which grows
Unearthly pale, which ever dims and dries,
And whose great thirst, exceeding all excess,
Teaches the South it is not paradise.

Richard Wilbur’s

Ceremony and Other Poems, 1950

Richard Wilbur's