WHO will say the world is dying? Who will say our prime is past? Sparks from Heaven, within us lying Flash, and will flash till the last. Fools! who fancy Christ mistaken; Man a tool to buy and sell; Earth a failure, God-forsaken, Anteroom of Hell. Still the race of Hero-spirits Pass the lamp from hand to hand; Age from age the Words inherits -- "Wife, and Child, and Fatherland," Still the youthful hunter gathers Fiery joy from wold and wood; He will dare as dared his fathers Give him cause as good. While a slave bewails his fetters; While an orphan pleads in vain; While an infant lisps his letters, Heir of all the age's gain; While a lip grows ripe for kissing; While a moan from man is wrung; Know, by every want and blessing, That the world is young. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR SWITZERLAND AND ITALY by RICHARD MONCKTON MILNES TO SENECA LAKE by JAMES GATES PERCIVAL I AM NOT YOURS by SARA TEASDALE THE MORAL FABLES: THE COCK AND THE FOX by AESOP VICTORY by LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA |