In the reign of the great Emperor Lu T'ang Chu Wise men were ordered to inscribe in a book All the great body of wisdom that men knew. Today I turn the pages, and as I look I cannot see anything very new or old, And I wonder why it was worth the trouble, then, Of days and nights and a thousand labors untold Which the volume must have exacted from those wise men. But still we write -- and the Emperor now is blown As grey dust over the limitless Asian plains. Still we inscribe all that is humanly known, Although no ruler honors us for our pains -- Recording a thousand wisdoms, all our own, To celebrate our good and glorious reigns. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MOUNTAIN LAUREL by ALFRED NOYES AN OLD BATTLE-FIELD by FRANK LEBBY STANTON IDYLLS OF THE KING: THE COMING OF ARTHUR by ALFRED TENNYSON MY VERY PARTICULAR FRIEND by MARIA ABDY FUNERAL by ETHEL SKIPTON BARRINGER VOLATUS TRIUMPHANS by LUCIUS MORRIS BEEBE MORGIANA DANCES by WILLIAM ROSE BENET TAKE YOUR CHOICE: AS EDGAR LEE MASTERS WOULD HANDLE IT. HILDA HYDE by BERTON BRALEY |