To close the eyes upon a frenzied scene Were a vain solace, whilst that rage endures. This crazy world is old and full of spleen And quickly breeds two ills for one it cures. It will plunge on, till all its treasures burn, Calling lust reason and ambition law. Look, mark, and hold your peace. Can madness learn? Can hot blood hearken to an old man's saw? Truth like a flood has caught me unawares In its dark whirlpool -- truth that, ill-divined, Grudges the wise that mincing love of theirs, But face to face appals the simple mind. All that bland death would cancel and forgive I see with horror as it dares to live. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...COLUMBUS [JANUARY, 1487] by LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY BLACK GIRL by ASCLEPIADES OF SAMOS ON A LETTER: 2 by MATHILDE BLIND THE DARK VISITOR by ANNE MILLAY BREMER FEARS AND SCRUPLES by ROBERT BROWNING AMELIA EARHART by HELEN BRYANT THE LAPSE OF TIME by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT LINES ON A PICTURE OF A GIRL IN THE ATTITUDE OF A PRAYER BY THE ARTIST GRUSE by THOMAS CAMPBELL |