|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ON CERTAIN BOOKS (2), by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER Poet's Biography
First Line: Alas! My friend, 'tis motive power one needs
Last Line: While smart theosophies lose heart and die.
Subject(s): Books; Reading
First Line: Alas! My friend, 'tis motive power one needs
Last Line: While smart theosophies lose heart and die.
Subject(s): Books; Reading
Alas! my friend, 'tis motive power one needs
And not these idle fancies ill-advised;
Mere harness will not pull us up to Christ,
Without the strength of full and living creeds;
These shiny morals are not match for sin,
These empty trappings are not force nor speed;
What! shall we hope the chariot race to win
With straps and head-stalls only? To succeed
In that great race, to Faith alone is given --
On-looking Faith, whose object fires the will;
And, as the distance shrinks 'twixt earth and heaven,
Glows with its motion, and bears forward still,
Because it marks the goal with steadfast eye,
While smart theosophies lose heart and die.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
TWO SONNETS: 1 by DAVID LEHMAN
THE ILLUSTRATION?ÇÖA FOOTNOTE by DENISE LEVERTOV
FALLING ASLEEP OVER THE AENEID by ROBERT LOWELL
POETRY MACHINES by CATE MARVIN
LENDING LIBRARY by PHYLLIS MCGINLEY
HER FIRST-BORN by CHARLES TENNYSON TURNER