I am the giver of all gifts, and I The thief unthwartable who steals them back; I placed the sun and moon and stars on high, And I shall quell their flames and leave them black. I fill the cradle and I give the crown, Nothing there is that does not come from me, I build tall towers and I tear them down. I am the one Immutability. My hands are crimson with the blood of years, No man can count old beauties I have slain, Yet grant me credit for allaying tears, For mending hearts although they break again; And learn to trust this shining blade of mine -- Though it may wound, I am the anodyne. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MIDSUMMER FROST (2) by ISAAC ROSENBERG THE SUPERSEDED by THOMAS HARDY ON THE SUN COMING OUT IN THE AFTERNOON by HENRY DAVID THOREAU BROADWAY IN THE OZARKS: NIGHT by BETTY CORBETT BASSETT PSALM 51 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |