If I remember Youth and its brief years -- A flair of folly, mad outburst of fun; A lilting tune and then the tune has run Upon the empty beach of woe and tears; A full-blown rose; a hearth-fire turning grey; An empty sound as clanking brasses meet; A gush of laughter down a quiet street; I'll surely challenge Youth its hurried stay! O, lift the cup of wonder lest it spill -- Like wine the last few drops are ever best; O, stir the blaze of Beauty, let it flame Until it satisfies us with its thrill! As Youth-fires die age quietly sinks to rest, Content to bear the memories of its name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SYMPATHETIC PORTRAIT OF A CHILD by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS THE SWAN AND THE GOOSE by AESOP THE WRECK OF THE DEUTSCHLAND by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS THE MORAL FABLES: THE COCK AND THE FOX by AESOP TEARS by TUMADIR BINT IBN AL-SHARID AL-KHANSA |