Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO J.C.P., by ANNA BUNSTON DE BARY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO J.C.P., by                    
First Line: Our instincts, not our memories, protest
Last Line: Undreamt-ofcaravans and homeward ways.
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


OUR instincts, not our memories, protest
We are not wholly of this desert race
Nor Bedouin born. Our infant lips were pressed
To fairer bosoms formed with finer grace.
Yet you and I, though aliens, have known
And felt the allurement of the wilderness;
Drawn eerie comfort from the bleachéd bone,
Since we in turn may share the grim caress
Of this our tawny mistress, and may lie
At last upon her large, indifferent breast.

Meanwhile we watch the mighty sunrise dye
The hedgeless east, and yield to all the zest
And glamour of great dawns. And we can fly
Our strong-winged falcon, Hope, and bid her stray
Through all the spaces of Infinity.
Not yet the sand hath choked us. We can play,
(For thou hast fashioned me a lute,) and sing
Faint songs beneath the tangled stars at night,
And marvel what the next day's march may bring,
And if to-morrow show the hills in sight.

Not all meet death in deserts. Men have found
Strange midnoon shelter, stranger midnight blaze,
Clear springs and manna thick upon the ground,
Undreamt-ofcaravans and homeward ways.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


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