The wise do send their hearts before them to Dear blessed Heaven, despite the veil between; The foolish nurse their hearts within the screen Of this familiar world, where all we do Or have is old, for there is nothing new: Yet elder far that world we have not seen; God's Presence antedates what else hath been: Many the foolish seem, the wise seem few. Oh foolishest fond folly of a heart Divided, neither here nor there at rest! That hankers after Heaven, but clings to earth; That neither here nor there knows thorough mirth, Half-choosing, wholly missing, the good part: -- Oh fool among the foolish, in thy quest. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO MARK ANTHONY IN HEAVEN by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS LIBERTY FOR ALL by WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON STAR-TALK by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES RECESSIONAL (1) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON FOREIGN LANDS by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON SYSTEM by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |