(LINES FROM A LETTER TO JOHN HAMILTON REYNOLDS) O THOU whose face hath felt the Winter's wind, Whose eye has seen the snow-clouds hung in mist, And the black elm tops 'mong the freezing stars, To thee the spring will be a harvest-time. O thou, whose only book has been the light Of supreme darkness which thou feddest on Night after night when Phoebus was away, To thee the Spring shall be a triple morn. O fret not after knowledge--I have none, And yet my song comes native with the warmth. O fret not after knowledge--I have none, And yet the Evening listens. He who saddens At thought of idleness cannot be idle, And he's awake who thinks himself asleep. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A NEGRO LOVE SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR IN THE SHADOWS: MY EPITAPH by DAVID GRAY (1838-1861) TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE FIRST DAY: ROBERT OF SICILY by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW PASSIO XL MARTYRUM by ARTHUR E. BAKER |