O poet of the future! I, Of the dead present, bid thee hail! Come forth and speak,—our speech shall die: Come forth and sing,—our song shall fail: Our speech, our song fall barren,—we go by! Our heart is weak. In vain it swells And beats to bursting at the wrong: There never sets a sun but tells Of weak ones trampled down by strong, Of Truth and Justice both immured in cells. We would aspire, but round us lies A maze of high desires and aims; Would seek a prize, but, ah! our eyes Fail as we face the fallen fames Of the great world's Olympian games. Seeing the victors vanquished, we Grow heartsick at the sight, and choose To hold in fee what things there be Rather than in the hazard use,— Than stake the all we have—to lose! We all are feeble. Still we tread An ever-upward sloping way; Deep chasms and dark are round us spread And bale-fires beckon us astray: But thou shalt stand upon the mountain head. But thou wilt look with gladdened eyes And see the mist of error flee, And see the happy sons arise Of happier days that are to be,— On greener, gladder earth, and clearer skies. We, of the Morning, but behold The dawn afar: thine eyes shall see The full and perfect day unfold,— The full and perfect day to be, When Justice shall return as lovely as of old. Thou, with unloosened tongue, shalt speak In words of subtle, silver sound,— In words not futile now, nor weak, To all the nations listening round Until they seek the light,—nor vainly seek! We only ask it as our share, That, when your day-star rises clear,— A perfect splendor in the air,— A glory ever, far and near,— Ye write such words—@3as these of those who were!@1; | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LONGING FOR HEAVEN by ANNE BRADSTREET THE RHODORA: ON BEING ASKED, WHENCE IS THE FLOWER? by RALPH WALDO EMERSON ARIZONA POEMS: 4. THE WINDMILLS by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER MENAPHON: DORON'S JIG by ROBERT GREENE DAYS OF THE MONTH by MOTHER GOOSE OVER THE RIVER by NANCY WOODBURY PRIEST |