I SEE them, -- crowd on crowd they walk the earth, Dry leafless trees no autumn wind laid bare; And in their nakedness find cause for mirth, And all unclad would winter's rudeness dare; No sap doth through their clattering branches flow, Whence springing leaves and blossoms bright appear: Their hearts the living God have ceased to know Who gives the springtime to the expectant year. They mimic life, as if from Him to steal His glow of health to paint the livid cheek; They borrow words for thoughts they cannot feel, That with a seeming heart their tongue may speak; And in their show of life more dead they live Than those that to the earth with many tears they give. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BLESSED DAMOZEL by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI FAST ANCHOR'D ETERNAL O LOVE! by WALT WHITMAN INSCRIPTION FOR AN ICE-HOUSE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD O YE JOYS! by LOUISA SARAH BEVINGTON GWIN, KING OF NORWAY by WILLIAM BLAKE TO EDWARD FITZGERALD by ROBERT BROWNING SONG: A BEAUTIFUL MISTRESS by THOMAS CAREW |