O LIFE! what is thy quest? -- What owns this world Of stalking shadows, fleeting phantasies, Enjoyments substanceless -- to wed the mind To its still querulous, ever-faltering mate -- Or crib the pinion of the aspiring soul (Upborne ever by the mystical) To a poor nook of this sin-stricken earth, Or sterile point of time? -- The Universe, My spirit, is thy birth-right -- and thy term Of occupance, thou river, limitless -- Eternity! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FRATERNITY by ANNE REEVE ALDRICH THE BLUEBIRD by WILLIAM P. ALEXANDER SATIRE: 1 by AULUS PERSIUS FLACCUS THE MOCKING-BIRD by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD CHORIAMBICS: 2 by RUPERT BROOKE SONG OF THE STARS by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE WANDERER: PROLOGUE. PART 1 by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON |