I cannot be at peace yet need not fight, I fear, I hope, I burn, I suffer cold, I fall to earth, I scale the Heavens in flight, Have empty hands and yet all things do hold; I am not free though unconstrained, although None holdeth me I may not cast my chains; Love harms me not, yet will not let me go, Will neither slay me nor console my pains; I plead for mercy yet desire the end, I speak without a tongue, see without eyes, I love another yet myself despise, I eat my bread in bitterness and blend Laughter and tears, I hate both death and life; Through thee, Madonna, I endure this strife! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: HENRY BAKER, AT NEW YORK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS [MAY 9, 1775] by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT ALL GOATS by ELIZABETH JANE COATSWORTH THE FACE ON THE [BAR-ROOM] FLOOR by HUGH ANTOINE D'ARCY THE HOMECOMING by THOMAS HARDY A DREAM, AFTER READING DANTE'S EPISODE OF PAULO & FRANCESCA by JOHN KEATS TO THE HONOURABLE AND VIRTUOUS LADY, THE LADY TASBURGH by WILLIAM BASSE |