O! Reason! vaunted Sovereign of the mind! Thou pompous vision with a sounding name! Can'st thou, the soul's rebellious passions tame? Can'st thou in spells the vagrant fancy bind? Ah, no! capricious as the wavering wind, Are sighs of Love that dim thy boasted flame, While Folly's torch consumes the wreath of fame, And Pleasure's hands the sheaves of truth unbind. Pressed by the storms of Fate, hope shrinks and dies; Frenzy darts forth in mightiest ills arrayed; Around thy throne destructive tumults rise, And hell-fraught jealousies, thy rights invade! Then, what art thou? O! Idol of the wise! A visionary theme! -- a gorgeous shade! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...COMIN' THRO' THE RYE by ROBERT BURNS CINQUAIN: SUSANNA AND THE ELDERS by ADELAIDE CRAPSEY BUNCHES OF GRAPES by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE ENGLAND (2) by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE A GARDEN SONG by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON CROTALUS by FRANCIS BRET HARTE TO HIS DEAD BODY by SIEGFRIED SASSOON UNDERWOODS: BOOK 2: 6. THE SPAEWIFE by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |