Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DO POETS FAIL? by ALFRED J. DAVIS

First Line: WE POUR UPON THE POET'S HEAD
Last Line: WITHIN TO MAKE OUR SPIRITS BLOOM.
Subject(s): POETRY & POETS;
We pour upon the poet's head
The bitter gall that saviors drink;
Then quote his lines when we would link
Life's setting sun with new dawn's red.

The light he spreads when he is here
May seem but darkness to the throng;
But when reflected by the strong --
New stars -- new skies -- new worlds appear.

Though Keats and Whitman felt the blow
Of fortune's flail and critic's scorn,
They sang for millions yet unborn.
Do poets fail? But this I know:

The buried gold in Egypt's tomb
May tell of wealth and ancient pride
But Job and Homer still reside
Within to make our spirits bloom.



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