Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE PARTING, by LEE WILSON DODD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PARTING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Muse, we have rhymed of liberty
Last Line: To labor, not to sing, in hell.
Subject(s): Muses; War - Home Front


Muse, we have rhymed of Liberty,
Have damned the Germans, cheered for France,
Exalted Belgium's constancy --
Bowed to the times and circumstance:
But have we given of our best?
Have we not drawn from brackish springs
Dead water? Have we stood the test,
The test that Life, Life only, brings?
Reflected from her eyes, they fade,
Those rhymes of ours; they thin and are
As if they never had been made.
-- Poor Muse! and must the blight of war
Destroy in us the seeds of song.
Leave us no hope for flower or fruit?
Must all that touches war go wrong,
Leaf-withered, blasted at the root?
Not all. But, Muse of mine, our hearts
Have not the mighty pulse that shakes
The soul of nations. Song departs
From us, when all we sang of breaks
From all we hoped for -- peace on earth,
Good will to men of kindly will,
Beauty.... But what is beauty worth
In a crazed world where man must kill
Man, to make Truth come true? Poor Muse,
Bewildered Muse of mine, farewell!
Find thou some Heaven apart! I choose
To labor, not to sing, in Hell.





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