LIFE is made up of vanities -- so small, So mean, the common history of the day, -- That mockery seems the sole philosophy. Then some stern truth starts up -- cold, sudden, strange; And we are taught what life is by despair: -- The toys, the trifles, and the petty cares, Melt into nothingness -- we know their worth; The heart avenges every careless thought, And makes us feel that fate is terrible. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FRAILTY AND HURTFULNESS OF BEAUTY by HENRY HOWARD ON THE COLLAR OF MRS. DINGLEY'S LAP-DOG by JONATHAN SWIFT VERSES ADDRESSED TO IMITATOR OF FIRST SATIRE OF HORACE by MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU WARPED FLOWER by SHEILA BARBOUR PENULTIMATE PURITAN by HELEN L. BARNES MY HIDING PLACE AND ME by BARBARA BROOKS BIXLEY THE PASSING YEAR by MATHILDE BLIND WRITTEN FOR A LADY'S COMMON-PLACE BOOK by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD |