WITHIN thy crystal depths I see A figure semblable of me, But no more me than I am one With the brute rock I rest upon; For how may brow or eye reveal The infinites wherewith I deal? Nay, I will break thee, mirror mine! The unseen inward is divine, The outward body but a bowl That covers in the mounting soul. If any one would truly know What manner of man I come and go, Not flesh alone, but blood and breath, Lo, Lear, Lord Hamlet and Macbeth! Poor mummer, I must shatter thee, Since thou dost bear false tales of me! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN EARLIEST SPRING by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS THE MORAL FABLES: THE FOX, THE WOLF, AND THE HUSBANDMAN by AESOP A CROWNED POET by ANNE REEVE ALDRICH FRAGMENT OF AN 'ANTIGONE' by MATTHEW ARNOLD BALLADE OF MID-WINTER NIGHTS by CHARLOTTE LOUISE BERTLESEN |