Methinks the stars are throbbing as they shine, And the void gloats on its infinity. The intense quietness of joy divine Descends on me. O happy deities, the life ye love Is changeless in its palpitating joy: No brighter sunrise shall your boasts reprove, No night destroy. In you I find the solace of my grief And not in dreams of blessedness to be, For peace is life to you, this struggle brief Is life to me. The fates' hands dole with measure: in their right Are seeds of pleasure that by day they sow, And in their left, to scatter in the night, Are seeds of woe. If I, unhappy reaper, reap but pain, The richer harvest shall a brother reap. My toil is not for ever vain, nor vain My holy sleep. Immortal brother, heaven vast and fair, Our Father's happier heritage is thine: When I am dead, and all that sorrow share, Be glad, and shine. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SIXTY-EIGHTH BIRTHDAY by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL ENOCH ARDEN by ALFRED TENNYSON IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 51 by ALFRED TENNYSON BALLADE OF MYSELF AND MONSIEUR RABELAIS by LEONARD BACON (1887-1954) NETLEY ABBEY; A LEGEND OF HAMPSHIRE by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |