Methinks the ills of life I fain would shun; But then I must shun life which is a blank: Even in my childhood oft my spirit sank Thinking of all that had still to be done. Among my many friends there is not one Like her with whom I sat upon the bank Willow-o'er-shadowed; from whose lips I drank A love more pure than streams that sing and run. But many times that joy has cost a sigh; And many times I in my heart have sought For the old comfort, and not found it yet: Surely in that calm day when I shall die The painful thought will be a blessed thought, And I shall sorrow that I must forget. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WALT WHITMAN by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE BURIED LADY by PAUL VALERY THE BLISSFUL DAY by ROBERT BURNS ON THE RECEIPT OF MY MOTHER'S PICTURE [OUT OF NORFOLK] by WILLIAM COWPER THE DOVE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE CLERKS by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE DIRGE [FOR FIDELE], FR. CYMBELINE by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE |