Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO MR. FORBES-ROBERTSON: 15. THE MISSION OF ART, by CHARLES LOUIS HENRY WAGNER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO MR. FORBES-ROBERTSON: 15. THE MISSION OF ART, by                    
First Line: O, ugliness is but skin deep, young man
Last Line: So art should paint the inner beauty's ways.
Subject(s): Art & Artists; Beauty; Creative Ability; Inspiration; Creativity


O, ugliness is but skin deep, young man,
And art its duty is to help reveal
The beauteous thought which underlies God's plan
Which He, Creator, thought best to conceal.
The chestnut burr is rough and sharp with thorns,
Yet holds a sweet and tasty meat within;
The sweetest spirit often times adorns
The heart that's hidden 'neath an ugly skin.

And though the sculptured marble oft proclaims
A beauty lacking in the living man,
The sculptor's honest when his chisel aims
To interpret God's divine, noble plan.
As Nature, when an earthquake's force is spent,
Oft leaves great things before our wondering gaze
In treasures of a very large extent,
So art should paint the inner beauty's ways.





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