Climb, at Court, for me, that will, Tottering favour's pinnacle; All I seek is to lie still; Settled in some secret nest, In calm leisure let me rest, And, far off the public stage, Pass away my silent age. Thus, when, without noise, unknown, I have lived out all my span, I shall die, without a groan, And old honest countryman. Who, exposed to others' eyes, Into his own heart ne'er pries, Death to him's a strange surprise. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DEATH OF SLAVERY by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT SONNET: 21 by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL |