Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE GUEST by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON

First Line: I HAVE A GUEST, BUT CANNOT TELL
Last Line: ONE FACE, ONE MEMORY, ONE NAME!

I HAVE a guest, but cannot tell
If he were bid or sent,
Yet welcome, as by desert well
The Arab to the tent.
How long will he consent to stay
To give a reason for the day?

And if he go, can I unlearn
His songs of joy and pain?
His torch, that was so quick to burn,
How can I quench again --
That torch that lights with fadeless flame
One face, one memory, one name!



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