Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HERITAGE, by CLAUDE MCKAY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HERITAGE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Now the dead past seems vividly alive
Last Line: The best of me is but the least of you.
Alternate Author Name(s): Edwards, Eli


Now the dead past seems vividly alive,
And in this shining moment I can trace,
Down through the vista of the vanished years,
Your faun-like form, your fond elusive face.
And suddenly some secret spring's released,
And unawares a riddle is revealed,
And I can read like large, black-lettered print,
What seemed before a thing forever sealed.
I know the magic word, the graceful thought,
The song that fills me in my lucid hours,
The spirit's wine that thrills my body through,
And makes me music-drunk, are yours, all yours.
I cannot praise, for you have passed from praise,
I have no tinted thoughts to paint you true;
But I can feel and I can write the word;
The best of me is but the least of you.








Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net