Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MAKING FACES, by MARY LYDIA CARPENTER First Line: How little we think, as we go our way Last Line: We need fear no tales that our faces tell. Subject(s): Bones; Faces | ||||||||
How little we think, as we go our way, That we make our faces from day to day. Thoughts leave their traces; they make or mar The faces which show what we really are. The perfect lines -- the color rare -- The charming voice and the sheen of hair All matter naught if the sweeter grace Of love and truth is not in the face. The mother who bends o'er her baby's bed And sings and smiles as she strokes his head Is writing the lines that a saint might wear As she fondles her baby's silken hair. The faces of those upon the street, Selling their wares while the wind and sleet Search their bones through their garments thin, Tell a silent tale of the souls within. There are lines of courage and lines of greed, And faces showing the pangs of need Borne with a patience beyond the ken Of their hurrying, heedless fellow men. And the baser lines may become effaced; By the nobler lines they may be replaced If we turn our thoughts to a brother's need And forget ourselves in a kindly deed. And heavy hearts thus will be made light, And a soul will shine with a face made bright With the joy of helping a fellow man, If only we do the best we can. God help us all to live so well We need fear no tales that our faces tell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHEN WE LOOK UP by DENISE LEVERTOV HISTORY OF MY FACE by KHALED MATTAWA WOMAN IN FRONT OF POSTER OF HERSELF by ALICE NOTLEY THE HOUSE OF DUST: 1 by CONRAD AIKEN LOOKING AT AGING FACES by ROBERT BLY WHAT MAKES THIS STATUE NOBLE SEEMING by KENNETH KOCH |
|