Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SONNET ON THE TRANSITORINESS OF LIFE, by ANDREAS GRYPHIUS Poet's Biography First Line: You see, where'er you look, but vanity on earth Last Line: And yet eternal things man will not contemplate. Subject(s): Transience; Impermanence | ||||||||
You see, where'er you look, but vanity on earth: To-morrow they'll tear down what we have built to-day, And peaceful herds will graze and shepherds' children play On fields where now the lively cities boast their worth. All that is blooming now must lie in sorry dearth; The hearts that beat in pride will turn to ashes grey. No marble and no ore, nay, nothing here can stay. Now happiness may smile before some sorrow's birth. The glory of high deeds must vanish like a dream. Oh, how can man withstand the flow of time's fleet stream? Yea, what is all that we have deemed so wondrous great, But worthless trifles, only shadows, wind and dust, A flower of the field, that on the road is thrust. And yet eternal things man will not contemplate. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FROM THE SPANISH by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON CHAMBER MUSIC: 17 by JAMES JOYCE SOUTHERN GOTHIC by DONALD JUSTICE THE BEACH IN AUGUST by WELDON KEES THE MAN SPLITTING WOOD IN THE DAYBREAK by GALWAY KINNELL THE SEEKONK WOODS by GALWAY KINNELL SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 32 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |
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